Lecter
by A chance
Summary: Takes place immediately following the movie. Hannibal and Clarice find themselves on the run from the FBI, Will Graham, and others. Can they find each other in time?
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone! I look forward to starting this story I have been thinking about it for a while and decided, why not? Everyone should be aware of a few things. First anything italicized is considered thoughts or internal dialogue. Second that this story takes place immediately after the film. And last, I plan on making this a rather long story with multiple parts, but I will let you know when one part begins and another ends. This should be entertaining and fun. Please remember to comment and give lots of feedback because it really helps me in my story developing as well as inspires me to keep writing.

Enjoy!

Lecter

A night that never seems to end. It is dark out, but the sky is illuminated with fireworks. The water reflects the colors beautifully. Clarice only smiled as police officers ran to her on the lake shore. The sirens were loud and deafening to the ear, but not to her. No, she had unfortunately heard this sound for what felt like a lifetime. She held her arms up high as the officers approached, guns raised, unsure of what the situation was. Her arm was throbbing from the recent surgery the Good Doctor was so kind to leave her with before departing.

One officer shouted, "Starling? Is that you?"

Clarice turned her head slightly so as to make out the figures fast approaching, "Yes, it's me. I'm the one who called you boys."

"Jesus Starling what happened? We found Krendler in the kitchen. What is going on?"

"Detain her now!" Pearsall shouted.

The first officer gripped Starling's arm and twisted it around her back and then the other to finally cuff her hands together.

Pearsall was fuming, he stood in front of Starling looking her up and down. She could feel all the officers looking her over, up and down. She might as well have been nude.

Pearsall started first, "Where is he?"

"I do not know sir. I tried to chase after him, but he was gone when I made it out of the house."

"Where is he going?"

"I don't know."

"So let me get this straight, I have a man down in there with half his brain missing, a shoot out at the fucking Verger Estate, and an agent on suspension standing before me telling me she has nothing?"

Clarice glanced at the ground for a moment. The shoes he got her were very nice and fit comfortably. Starling never was one to choose heels over sneakers, but these fit her perfectly. She knew there was no reasoning. No explanation that could justify her actions, no hope, no help, nothing. She was most likely going to be taken to jail now. She knew the charges stacked against her. Suspended agent with a gun, a bunch of dead bodies and no murderer to show, except for herself.

Pearsall sneered, "If you aren't going to answer me, then fine, take her away now, we will question her later. Keep her locked up tight."

The officer escorted her to his police car and shoved her in the back apologizing to her. Then he moved to the front and drove off into the night.

Pearsall turned around and shouted, "Set up a perimeter now! The bastard couldn't have gotten far. I want every inch of this ground checked and I want men at the closest airports from here. Move it now!"

Back in the police car the officer kept asking Clarice questions but she had long since tuned him out. The street lights were flashing by. Internally Clarice was unnaturally calm and it frightened her.

_It all seemed to happen so fast. Doctor…where are you? With a wound like that you can't get far. Not without help. But where would you go? This is it. This is how Clarice Starling goes down. Arrested and locked up. God I am such a fucking idiot. Did I really think I was just going to show up and bust him out of there while simultaneously arresting Verger and his men? I have to be delusional._

Starling's mind raced and raced. She couldn't go to jail like this. Her life as an FBI agent was over, she was over. She has to do something. Starling shifted quietly so the officer wouldn't notice. She raised the back of the dress slightly and retrieved the key from the inside of her underwear and then slide the dress back down. The officer was now on the phone and Clarice was the last thing he was paying attention to. She now held the power in her hand. The power to escape from this madness. She thought of the men in the barn, dead on the floor. Then her mind shifted to Lecter strapped up like a remake of the crucifixion. She felt his strong arms carry her out of the barn. She heard her father's voice in her ear. For the first time in her adult life. Clarice Starling had no clue what to do. She fought for justice and was arrested. She broke the laws she swore to protect. The outcome of the events was one man that was saved, and when she handcuffed him, he took his own hand instead of hers. He could not hurt her. Starling had to speak with the Doctor, she needed answers.

She twirled the key in her hand over and over.

Pearsall had the forensics team taking blood samples and inspecting the crime scene in Paul Krendler's summer home. He walked up the stairs and found Starling's gun and clothes on a nightstand by the bedroom door. _Jesus Starling, you had access to your own fucking weapon? Why didn't you shoot the bastard then? _He looked towards one investigator and told him to bag the gun and clothes. He walked back down the stairs to the kitchen where they were photographing Paul's dead body before bagging him up. Portions of his brain where missing, and a dirty towel was thrown over his head. Blood covered the kitchen floor and a butcher knife laid on the counter soaked in blood.

Pearsall was in for a very long night indeed, and the entertainment didn't stop there. No, it was another hour before he received the phone call that Agent Starling had gone missing, and the police car was found abandoned on the side of the road with the police officer dead inside.

By the next day two things had changed, the investigation on Doctor Hannibal Lecter had officially been opened up by the FBI, and right beside his picture on the ten most wanted was the face of Clarice Starling.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Alexander Wright got home late, after 32 years of medical practice his routine seemed so casual now. He woke up promptly at 6am every day without the need of an alarm, got dressed, and went to work at various hospitals in the surrounding area. The nurses all knew him very well and his staff adored him. He was always punctual and a little stern, but worked well with others. He was on the clock every day til 9pm and he would return home to his dog Max and enjoy his meal. His house was quite elaborate. A little to large for one man. Both his children had graduated and moved out. His son Demetri was a lawyer in New York and his daughter Diana worked as a plastic surgeon in California. His wife passed away about 12 years ago from stage 4 lung cancer. It was unfortunate that it was not caught sooner, but she had not shown any issues until she was changing a light bulb one day and fell. She broke her right hip and it was then that the cancer was discovered. A bone scan done a few weeks later showed the cancer had already spread throughout her body. He missed her dearly within the walls of his large house. His children visited occasionally, when they weren't too busy with their own lives. But Alexander never complained. His job as a surgeon kept his very busy. On his days off he attended the opera and various plays that cane through town.

This night however seemed to feel much different from the previous. He entered his large house and his dutiful German Shepard Max did not greet him at the door.

"Max?" He called. "Come here boy!"

Then the scent hit Dr. Wright's nose. The unmistakable smell of blood. In all his years of practice, he could identify with numerous scents. He walked into the living area and turned on the lights. What greeted his eyes did not surprise him entirely, but he remained silent.

Dr. Hannibal Lecter sat in the chair with a metal surgical tray, a hand lay in ice, and his dog Max was at his feet happily laying by Dr. Lecter's feet. The Doctor's eyes were the deepest of blues and he had an unnatural stillness about him.

"Good evening Alex. Sorry to disturb you and your dinner plans, but might an old friend ask a favor?"

"Hannibal…what have you gotten yourself into now old friend? I am assuming the help you need involves that?" He pointed to the hand in the ice tray.

"It is a very long story, and I am afraid I have already lost a lot of blood."

"Let us get to work then. Quickly to the back."

After an intense surgery reattaching Dr. Lecter's hand, Alexander Wright took a seat in the chair opposite the bed that Hannibal now occupied. No doubt he would sleep through the day just due to the volume of blood loss. Hannibal slept soundly as if nothing had ever happened. Wright always marveled at his pain tolerance ability. His dog Max came in the room to lay at Alex's feet. "Oh I see, you only want me when the company is asleep. I see who your favorite is." He patted he dog on its head and turned off the lights. He would have to tell Hannibal when he woke that the surgery was a success albeit he would probably have limited range of motion and permanent nerve damage, but the deal was done. He laid down on his couch, the clock now read 7am.

"I guess it's a good thing it's my day off. Now then let's catch up on the news Max."

He turned on the TV to the local news station where a picture of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling flashed across the screen. The reporter was speaking very fast stating that the whereabouts of the two were still unknown and that both are considered armed and dangerous.

"Wait I have heard of that Starling woman before. Why is she missing?"

In the next room Doctor Lecter lay very still listening to the news being reported in the next room. His eyes bore a hole in the ceiling. Clarice is missing? Now that's interesting. Where will you fly to next little Starling? Our are games over, or have they just begun. I hope maybe this time we can have a little more fun.

Clarice Starling approached her duplex carefully. The police had been inside and completely turned the place upside down. Her roommate Ardelia wad home and reporting that she hasn't seen her. Clarice watched the interaction from afar. Once they were satisfied with the search, they left, giving a card to Ardelia, before driving hastily down the road.

In the 12 hours Clarice had gone missing she stayed local, she took the cash from the police officer she killed and used it to buy clothes, a pair of scissors, and a cheap box of hair dye. Starling's hair was now jet black and cane to about her shoulder. She had on a cheap pair of sneakers along with a black top and jeans. She walked down the street behind the tree line along a jogging path, then cut back across to approach the duplex from behind. She entered the back door by picking the lock. She already knew what she was after. Her spare gun and some cash she kept in a box under her bed. She worked for the FBI. She knew exactly where they were going to be before they did. She also knew enough to get access to fake passport and ID. Funny thing about the law enforcement, when you are in it long enough you know exactly who to go to and where to go to. She opened the door and made it to her room. Ardelia was in the shower, crying from the sound of things. Clarice was hasty grabbing the box. She was almost out the door, when she thought of the box she brought home the other night containing all the information she had acquired about Hannibal. She took a cook book the Doctor had used frequently and crammed it into her bag. She heard a gun cocking behind her and she turned. There Ardelia stood, gun in hand.

"Come to tell me by Clare?"

"Delia, please…"

"They said you killed a cop last night Clare…what the fuck is going on?"

Clarice stared at her friend silent. Her eyes started tearing up as well. "It all happened fast Dee, I can't explain it, I don't think you would understand."

"Well then you better fucking try! Let's go to Pearsall together, we can talk. I can back you up and…."

"No!" Clarice was fuming. She stood up abruptly with her fists clenched. "They were whisking me away to jail just like that. That is why I was in the back of that fucking squad car. They weren't taking me to a hospital, they weren't hearing my side. They want to blame me for damn near everything. Ever since the shootout at the fish market Where John died. No, even before that Dee!" She huffed for air. "I am not going back. You can shoot me now if you want to , but I am not going back there."

Ardelia lowered her gun, "I didn't know you were in the house right away. Why didn't you shoot me then? You could have done it easily."

"I know."

"Then why?"

"There has been enough dead people for one day Dee." Starling said coldly.

Ardelia blinked twice, "Is he with you?"

Clarice chuckled, "No, I don't know where he is."

"Are you going after him?"

"…Yes."

"What will you do when you find him?"

A beat. "I don't know. I just know that I have questions and he is the only one that has the answers."

Ardelia sighed and dropped the gun on the floor, "I don't ever want to see your face again. 2 hour head start is all I am giving you. Don't make me regret it Clare."

Clarice walked toward Ardelia and hugged her. "I love you Dee, and I am gonna miss you. I'm sorry."

Ardelia broke down, "I am sorry too girl. Be careful, please; please don't make me regret this. I love you."

Clarice disappeared out the back door and left Ardelia standing there. She cried and cried.

Clarice Starling was now on the run from her old life, from the FBI, from her friend, and her only goal was to find him, Hannibal Lecter.

Unfortunately for Starling and Lecter, more than just the FBI is looking for them


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Dr. Lecter had recovered nicely from his surgery. He had chosen wisely with his friend Alexander whom he met at an opera show. When Dr. Lecter first me Alex he was still an up and coming surgeon trying to make due in the field. Thanks to Lecter's input, intelligence, and funding he was able to get a better job with a stronger support system. Alex knew of Lecter's dealings, when he had a bad run in with some thugs in an alley. Alex was running late one night after a horrendous shift at the hospital. He walked down the street to his apartment. Luckily for him Lecter was not far. Alex had always said he owed his life to Hannibal that night.

"What will you do with the bodies?" asked Alex.

"I don't think you would want to know Alex." Hannibal smiled wickedly.

Alex was fascinated by the Doctor. He knew of his dealings, but stayed out of his way. They had a mutual respect and friendship. Alex was not surprised to see Hannibal show up needing assistance because he felt like he had a debt to pay. But one thing that was astonishing to him was how fast he had recovered. Within an hour Dr. Lecter was up and moving around, and within 24 hours he had started practicing using his hand at the piano.

Alex approached Hannibal who was in the living room seated in front of the piano. He was just pressing the keys lightly trying to get a feel for them.

"I know that has to hurt Doctor. Are you going to rest it?"

"It will be fine Alex. I will place it in a sling before I leave for the airport in the morning."

"You are leaving so soon?!"

"Yes, I have some important things to attend to right away. I thank you for your hospitality Alex."

"Where are you going?"

Hannibal began to play a small piece, repeating a few keys over and over, "You know I can't tell you that my friend."

Alex looked at his glass he held in his hand, and then he looked to his dog Max who was laying on the floor beside Hannibal while he was playing, "Is it because of Clarice?"

Hannibal's hands froze over the keys but he didn't turn to look at Alex. Max picked his head up and gave an inquisitive look toward Hannibal.

"She is evolving."

"What?" Alex took a seat in the chair beside the piano.

"She is evolving and maturing into something quite beautiful and interesting."

"What is she turning into?"

Hannibal turned around to face Alex. The intense look on his face startled him for a moment.

Hannibal crossed his legs and rested his hands in his lap, "You misunderstand, she is not turning into anything. No. She is still and forever will be Clarice Starling, she isn't turning into anything. I said evolving and maturing. Like when a little cub finally grows into the lion it is always supposed to become. Clarice is growing into what she was always meant to become."

"What brings you to this idea?"

"The night she came to rescue me, she went against her superiors who had suspended her from duty and shot and killed 3 men in the barn. That same night, she killed a police officer on duty. Clarice has freed herself from the chains and restraints of her old life. Instead of depending on the pride bringing her food for the day, she has gone out on her own hunt. It will be interesting to see how far she has grown in such a short time."

"And what about your hand?"

"As I said previously, she is still maturing, she has not entirely grown into those claws and teeth just yet. But she will."

"Do you think she wants to see you again?"

Hannibal looked down to Max and began petting him, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because only I understand what she is going through. She will seek answers from me."

Alex looked Hannibal in the eye and nodded, "Good luck my friend."

Pearsall stood in the same basement as Clarice Starling did just a few days ago. Hannibal's House the agents would joke walking by its doors. The photos were all still hanging along with the letter Hannibal wrote to Starling. It had been 3 days since that night and there was still no sign of either of them. Pearsall cursed, "Damn it all!"

He placed his hands on the desk and pushed all the files into the floor. He kicked a box over and papers began flying everywhere. He huffed and huffed glancing down at the papers scattered across the floor. He saw a face amongst the mess that intrigued him. He bent over and pushed the box aside revealing the man underneath. He picked it up and read the summary.

"Well I'll be damned. Maybe I just found my answer."

He set the paper down on the desk and rushed back up to his office to get his coat and keys. You see Pearsall believed he found the key to his troubles on that paper. On that paper, showed the face of Will Graham.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Clarice Starling knew she had to meet Hannibal Lecter again. She spent her days conjuring up a plan on how to do so. She took the cookbook he loved and kept for years in his cell and decided on a code for their communication. One only Doctor Lecter would catch. However, she knew with the FBI hot on their trail that she would have to layer a few things first. She sat down with her pen and notepad and began writing. Over the past three days she acquired her fake passport, ID, changed her hair again, and had purchased a laptop to monitor how things were going on the news.

"The only chance they have of catching me or Dr. Lecter Would be to use all of the information I had accumulated before my suspension. They had never even come close to catching him before me. But if I am going to meet him, I have to be careful."

She glanced out the window of her hotel room overlooking the city. It was dark out now and traffic was picking up. No doubt late night rush hour of people getting off of work. She felt exhausted from all of the running around over the past three days. She had been to eight cities and had very little rest. She decided to make this hotel room her home base for the next two days. She decided she needed to recover and be the first one to initiate contact with Lecter. He was most likely waiting on her for the first move. Clarice surmised the Doctor would lay low and try to recover from the trauma to his hand, as well as see what game she had in store for him. She would send her message to him in two days time, but until then, she must think and keep an eye on the FBI.

Will Graham stood out in his backyard shooting empty beer cans from a log. The sound made a resounding pop, pop, pop, pop. He sighed and walked back over to the log tossing the beer cans into an overflowing trash can. He went around to the front of his house to his mailbox, grabbed the mail, and walked to his porch where he sat to divide the letters up.

"Junk, junk, junk…"

He heard a car heading down his driveway and peaked his head overtop of the letters. Pearsall stepped out of the black sedan.

Will grimaced, "Oh great…more junk."

He stood up and walked down the steps to greet Pearsall as close to his car as he could to avoid any prolonged conversations. He didn't want this man coming too close to his house, taking a seat, and trying whatever bullshit he was sure he was going to pull.

"Will Graham?"

"Depends, who is asking?"

"Clint Pearsall with the FB…."

"No I am not Will Graham. "

Pearsall took off his sun glasses and gave him a hard stare, "You sure as hell look like him."

Graham met his gaze, "Then look elsewhere."

He turned to walk back up the stairs to his house.

"It is about Hannibal Lecter."

Graham turned back around again, "Then it's a hell no. Maybe you didn't realize this but a few years back, a man named Jack Crawford tried this same shit."

"I know what Jack did Will, I am sorry for what happened. I would assume that is precisely why you would help. You know, catch the man who ruined your fucking life?"

Will smiled, "You are going to have to try a lot harder than that. I am busy, fuck off."

Will finally reached the door and Pearsall came right up behind him shouting, "You are busy? Busy doing what Will? From the looks of things drinking and repairing fucking boats. What is the harm in hearing me out?"

"You must think I am really stupid. I know why you are here. Hannibal Lecter has escaped and so has that woman….what was her name?"

"Clarice Starling. She was a former agent of ours who we sent to communicate with Lecter years ago on the Buffalo Bill case."

"Looks like that bastard Crawford didn't learn from his mistakes the first time."

Pearsall grabbed Will and slammed him up against the side of his house, "Don't you dare speak of Jack that way! He was a good man. Far from perfect, but he was much better than you. You sorry drunkard. Your wife left you, your kid is gone, and you have nothing left. So tell me why you aren't going to help me!"

Will pushed Pearsall off of him and straightened his shirt, "If I am so pathetic then why do you need my help?"

"Don't play games, we both know why I am here. You are the only person who has ever caught him. Come on Will this is your chance to catch this guy and take him down."

"I said no."

Will grabbed the door.

"I have something to offer you."

"I don't need money."

"Not money Will, but what I have to offer has to stay between you and me."

Will turned around intrigued. "What do you think you have to offer me?"

Pearsall looked at the ground then back up to Will and remained silent for a moment, "I don't want Hannibal Lecter in custody, I don't want him to have the death penalty, I don't want him to stand trial, and I don't want him in an insane asylum."

"What do you want then Pearsall? He has to stand trial even if it's for death."

"Dead. I want him dead. I don't want there to be any chance of him surviving. Going to trial, it could take months or years. He has the money. I want him dead. That is my offer to you. All the power of the FBI will be at your fingertips, and you don't have to bring him in or catch him. I want you to kill him. Kill the man that ruined your life, kill the man that took the lives of so many officers and agents."

Will remained silent for a long moment and stared off into the distance at the black sedan. His eyes glazed over and he seemed lost in thought. The trees were blowing in the wind, no doubt due to an incoming tropical storm.

"Give me the rest of the day to figure this out."

Pearsall nodded and handed him his card. "I will be in town for the day before flying back to Quantico tomorrow. If you agree, you fly back with me."

"Agreed."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Will Graham got on his laptop and began searching the name Clarice Starling. He had vaguely remembered the stories from all those years ago, but never gave it much thought. He went into the kitchen and poured a glass of whiskey. He could hear the thunder roaring outside as rain began to hit the roof of his house. He sat down in front of his computer again searching. He found hundreds of articles about the two. He was shocked and decided to siphon through it all. One article read "Bride of Lecter" another read "The Monster's Woman." All of these articles focused on the Doctor and Starling's growing relationship. He read about the most recent occurrence, the escape from Chesapeake. Will read all about how Clarice, suspended from duty went to rescue Hannibal Lecter from Mason Verger.

"Hhhmmm…that's interesting….so she isn't scared of him?"

He read as much of the report as he could find about the incidents at Paul Krendler's summer home. How Paul was found with his brain exposed and partially eaten, how Clarice was dressed in an evening gown, and how Dr. Lecter's blood was found all over the kitchen.

"What? He was injured?"

Will dug and dug for more information, but could find none. All the reports said was that Lecter was possibly injured, but Starling had escaped from custody before she could be questioned on what happened that evening.

"Let me get a good look at this woman."

He pulled up several pictures of Clarice and noted she looked fit and petite.

"She looks too small to be able to do any real damage against that monster. So how did he get injured?"

Will took a sip of his drink and a thought hit him that nearly made him choke.

"He doesn't make mistakes…unless he was distracted and let his guard down."

He looked back and read more articles on Starling's visits to the insane asylum, and he read her full statement on Lecter's capture by Verger's men.

He laughed, "You have got to be shitting me. Don't tell me that bullshit tabloid finally wrote the truth for once?"

He looked at another picture of Starling taken after she had just graduated from the academy. He looked at her eyes.

"You really aren't scared of him are you? So how did you do it?"

The storm outside started to slow and he could hear the steady drip, drip, drip of the rain.

_Pearsall said he wants him dead. But Lecter doesn't make mistakes he has no weaknesses…but somehow she was able to hurt him…her….could she be his weakness? Could she distract him enough for me to set up a rifle and shoot him? That is all it would take. No confrontations, no bullshit arrests or captures. No! Just one shot to kill the monster. If I am going to kill him, I will need your help little Starling. You will seek him out and find him, and when you do, that is when he will be at his most vulnerable. That will be when I can execute him. That will be when I can kill him!_

Graham took one last gulp down to finish his drink and picked up the phone. It took Will 4 hours to make his decision. He called Pearsall. He answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

"I'm in."

"Heh, just when I thought it was going to be a no."

"Just to clarify, I get to kill him right? No arrests are to be made?"

"None."

"One more question I need to clarify."

"Go ahead."

"What of the woman?"

Pearsall paused, "Why?"

"She could prove to be just as dangerous as Lecter, especially if kept alive much longer."

"…kill her. Take Lecter out and her too."

"Done."

"Meet me at the airport at 9am sharp."

The line went dead. Will was going to join in on this game of cat and mouse. He was going to let Starling find Lecter and kill them both.

On the other end of town Pearsall sat in his hotel room by the window watching the storm pass by. _This is absolutely perfect! The one man who can catch Lecter is finally on the case. Lecter…Starling….it is over for both of you._


	6. Chapter 6

Hello dear readers! Thank you for all the support! Please don't forget to review and follow the story. I try to update as often as I can. Just a fair bit of warning. This chapter will be rated M so please be aware of that. Nothing major of course, but we are starting to get into a little blood and gore. Please enjoy. It is almost time for the games to begin.

Chapter 6

Clarice was walking down the street with two grocery bags in hand. It was night out and the evening air was cool. She walked with a baseball cap on, a light jacket, and jeans. All those walking around her were completely unaware of who she was. She liked being invisible for once. It gave her a new perspective and outlook on how everyone moved around her. She felt like she had a better sense of the overall picture by not feeling like she had to be a piece in the game. She felt beside herself this evening. She wondered why. She still felt like Clarice Starling, just…different somehow. She had killed the police officer who was taking her in to custody that night. She felt bad about it but knew there was not another way. It had to be so. She did what she had to do to survive, was that so wrong? When she graduated from the academy she swore an oath, just like everyone else at the FBI had done. They were supposed to look after each other and help each other. But instead she found they were jealous of her. Various people tried to accuse her of things she didn't do. Why? She caught Buffalo Bill as a student while active agents couldn't accomplish it. She spoke to Hannibal Lecter at length without being frightened or scared when others would practically wet themselves after leaving his company. She was the best marksman they had. She was all the things they could not be and they hated her. She could not understand this feeling. She was happy for others when they accomplished things, but clearly this was not a two way street. Paul Krendler tried to blackmail her to get in her pants. She had recorded their conversation on the phone and turned it in to her superiors. While they told Krendler to leave her alone, they had never done anything to punish him. Well with the exception that Krendler's wife found out and promptly left him. He hated her for that ever since. He would send her on the worst cases. Well, not him personally he was not her superior in her own department, but he had connections and everyone allowed it. Even her friend Ardelia, who worked in a different unit was usually too busy to hear her out. Jack Crawford had become increasingly ill, and when she tried to approach him about what to do, he simply replied with, "Lay low, but keep your head up Starling." Such generic advice. How many times had she been shot for the FBI? How many times had she seen a better way to execute a plan, but was hushed up and told to do it differently? Then finally, that day at the fish market when John Brigham died, she felt completely defeated. He shouldn't have died that day. But they crucified her again and again, and her biggest support came from the most unlikely source in Hannibal Lecter. He had sent her a letter of encouragement, gave her a chance to find him, and in turn, after she saved his life, he carried her out of that barn and stitched her up. Starling knew that if she had done that for anyone at the FBI they would have escaped and left her to die. Most likely turned into some martyr for her hard work. He could have left her, But there was no hesitation on his part. He picked her up and saved her. He took her out of there and stitched her up. She vaguely remembers waking up during the surgery and seeing his face. He would tell her to sleep now, that she is safe. And she believed him. The next time she opened her eyes she saw her lamb standing above her.

_Was I his lamb? Or was he mine? Or neither?_

Then she was downstairs and saw Krendler's brain exposed. She shed a tear and gagged. Not at the blood and gore, but she felt sickened that she actually was happy that this man, who had made her suffer was finally gone. Was it wrong to feel such relief? Especially when he tried to touch her over and over again without her consent. She was sure that if Paul wasn't so scared of her that he would have tried to rape her long ago. But he was scared of her mouth running and telling the world. He could not scare her into intimidation. No. Every single time she stood firm, ready to fight. She was happy that night and it disgusted her. She tried to catch Hannibal, she could have just brought her gun and shot him, but she didn't. She didn't even consider the thought. She could shoot him, she could kill him, but she would not do it. She wasn't sure what she was trying to accomplish that night. Maybe it was just the strings of her old life keeping her attached. Maybe deep down she had hoped that she could still get that recognition and that promotion at work, but that was not it. She just knew to go through the motions, to do what she was supposed to do. The good guy, the bad guy, she was supposed to catch him. But somewhere along the way she lost that fine line with him. What was he to her? It frightened her to think of him this way. She knew she couldn't kill him, but could he? No he took his own hand that night instead of harming her. But when they finally meet again, what is going to happen? Will they tear each other apart into nothingness, or will they find some peace? She did not know, nor did she care. All she knew was that their paths were destined to cross again. Only this time, it would be on her own terms.

A faint scream broke the silence of the night. She looked around. Others seemed to ignore it. Whatever it was, it was brief and only lasted for a moment. She caught, in the corner of her eye, a man wrapping his arm around a girl tightly and walking her down an alleyway. She could see the glint of a knife at her side, tucked in between them. Starling followed at a distance.

The woman tried to scream but he clamped his hand over her mouth, "Shut up bitch!"

She screamed her muffled cries into his hand. He began ripping her shirt with his knife. Her breasts were exposed in the cool night air. He began unzipping his pants and slid them down just to his thighs.

That was as far as he got when he heard the click of a gun from behind.

"Who the fuck are you?"

"That is not what is important. What is important is that you obey every word I say. Understand?"

He tried to turn his head a fraction and he was met with a swift hit from the backside of a gun.

"I didn't tell you to move. I told you to listen. Honestly, do you only think with one thing?"

Starling brought out a knife and placed it against his hard member. He shrieked as a little blood trickled down his leg.

Starling smiled, "Ah, now I have your attention. You have a gun at you head and my knife at that filthy thing in between your legs. Now you will listen. First apologize."

He began to cry, "I am sorry!"

"Good. Next you seemed to have ruined her blouse, take off your shirt and give it to her."

Clarice backed up to give him room to take his shirt off. He then handed it to the woman and she grabbed it and ran.

"Turn around."

He turned. Clarice could see most of him now. He was a very physically fit man with dark brown hair and green eyes. He looked to be in his late 20s to early 30s.

"Please, it won't happen again. Just let me go."

"You are right. It won't."

It was not until the next morning the man was discovered in a nearby garbage bin with his penis severed and shoved in his own mouth. The police were called immediately and they questioned everyone they could find. The woman gave a brief statement, but kept her comments vague saying she couldn't really remember because she was so scared. She was thankful for Starling, and she wasn't about to turn her in so willingly. Not that it really mattered, that night, Clarice left and had moved on to the next city. She was ready to begin the game with Lecter. Unbeknownst to them both, Will was about to join in as well.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Dr. Hannibal Lecter was now in California. He was planning on leaving out first thing in the morning to travel to Japan. He had spent many long hours in and out of vehicles and airports constantly relocating and changing identities. He kept up with the FBI, but discovered they had made no advancements in their investigation. Dr. Lecter, however, did not believe this. No, he believed the FBI was hiding information.

"I wonder if a new player has joined our game."

He sat at a local café drinking away at his tea. He dressed in black shirt, black trousers with sunglasses on. He looked sleek as ever. His hand was healing nicely. He had just come off of a plane 9 hours ago where a little boy had eaten part of Paul Krendler's brains. Lecter had told him it was important to always try new things. Yes, the boy had reminded him a lot of his sister. Very inquisitive and full of energy. When he landed in California, he changed his disguise and ditched the sling.

He wondered when Starling was going to make the first step at contact. It excited him, no it pleased him, to know that she was on the run and in hiding just as he was. He had already assumed she would most likely write a message in a column hidden somewhere in a paper. He was sure she would try to communicate via the National Tattler. The same piece of tabloid trash that fantasized their love life while stomping on her career.

"How fitting." He mused.

He picked up a copy of the National Tattler at a local street vendor and went back to his hotel. Here he flipped through the pages and stumbled across a very interesting piece in the personal section by a Louis Friend.

Dr. Lecter smiled devilishly, "Your anagrams are showing my dear."

Will Graham had arrived at Quantico and immediately got to work. He told Pearsall that he wanted to keep everything under wraps. He did not want anyone to know that he was assisting in the investigation. Will made sure he was unseen with the exception of a select few that were assigned to him for the case. The entire flight over he studied Lecter and Starling's relationship. He read over all the files Pearsall could provide and dedicated them to memory. He was fascinated that there was a woman alive that could tame such a monster. Will wondered if she was just as terrifying a monster as Lecter. He walked into the old Hannibal House as it was dubbed to find three agents sitting in chairs waiting on him. Pearsall walked in just behind Will and began the introductions.

"Hello everyone, this is Will Graham and he will be heading this investigation. He was the first one to capture Dr. Lecter which is why he has been chosen for this position. Graham, this is Agent Mitch Hill, Agent Samuel Augustus, and Agent Gina Thacker."

Will nodded, "Hello."

They all nodded in turn.

Pearsall continued, "All of them are good at their research that they do and they are the best agents we have."

Will sighed, "It doesn't matter how good you all think you are, Lecter is better. But I will take all the help I can get. Can I get someone to check every single one of these over the past five days since the two have gone missing." Will pulled out a slip of paper with 5 distinct newspapers on them.

Agent Thacker looked at the paper, "Sure can, But why do you need these?"

Graham sat down on a desk and began speaking, "I believe they will have to meet if they haven't met up already. These 5 newspapers all put Clarice Starling to shame and spread rumors of their love for each other. It seems fitting that they would make the perfect platform to start up a conversation. I want all of them on my desk by this afternoon please Agent Thacker."

She nodded, "I will get to it right away."

She left the room. Agent Hill and Augustus were staring at Will, most likely sizing him up to see if he was really the famed man that took down the monster all those years ago.

Graham looked to Agent Hill, "You were there that night at Krendler's summer home weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Run me through what all happened in your own words."

"Well I wasn't around to get a look at Starling or anything. I was inside taking photographs and bagging evidence. There isn't much to tell. A lot of blood. Paul was sitting in a wheelchair with his brain exposed and a towel was thrown over his head. Upstairs there was night stand by a bedroom where Clarice Starling's clothes were. Her gun was also there, loaded. We found some medical supplies in the bedroom with a bullet that looked like it had been surgically removed."

"Great, thank you." Will looked toward Agent Augustus, "I would like it if you and Agent Hill could look for any local doctors in the area that Dr. Lecter had been known acquaintances with prior to his incarceration. If he was injured badly, he would need their help. Get to it."

Agent Augustus nodded, "You got it."

They all got to work, about 3 hours later Agent Thacker showed back up with all the copies he needed. He sat at his computer desk and began reading through them. He read through the Buffalo Bill occurrence again and again. He had to be well quipped with the two. If she was going to reach out to him, it would be in a code only they would understand. The next day Graham had finished reading through all of the columns and found one that interested him. He felt confident it was Starling reaching out. He picked up the phone and called Pearsall who came downstairs immediately.

"You got something?"

"I think so. Look at this."

Will flipped through the Tattler until he came across the personal columns. "Read this Pearsall, and tell me what you think."

"_You were always fond of games. Maybe you can come over for dinner and we can play one. I can even cook for you_…..and….wait what do all these numbers after and shit mean?"

"It's a code. Usually the first number represents a Page, then paragraph, sentence, and the letter. It would have to be a book though that she has that he knows about. But never mind that! Look who it's from."

Pearsall glanced down, "Louis Friend. Who the fuck is that?"

"The fake name that Lecter gave for Buffalo Bill during the case. It's them. We need to decipher what these codes mean. I think it is their meeting location."

"Let's get to it. But what book is she using?"

Will glanced around the room at all of photos and files containing information on Lecter, "When she was suspended, what did she take with her?"

"A box full of whatever was hers personally. There was a few things she had gotten from Barney Mathews. Some of Lecter's personally effects that she took from him."

"Could that have included a cook book?"

"Cook book?"

Will grabbed the paper again, "Right here there is a comment made about maybe I can cook for you. I think what she has is a cook book of his."

"I will check the files and see what she brought in exactly."

Pearsall started towards the exit.

"Pearsall."

He turned around, "Yes?"

"If we are going to catch them, this might be our only chance. We have to do it now, before they both disappear. Just one of them alone is dangerous, but together, they might be impossible to catch."

"Right, we do this now."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The FBI always kept records of what was brought in and out of the building for evidence. Clarice Starling did her job and was damn good at it. In all her research, she had acquired numerous items that Lecter had owned in order to better understand him and predict patterns to track him down. When she had confronted Barney Matthews about the various items he had sold, he managed to get her tapes of their conversations, drawings, and some books. When Clarice brought them into the infamous Hannibal House she had filled out a slip and handed it over to evidence. That is now the same room that Pearsall stood in today. He now had the list in his hand of everything Starling had brought. There were 3 cookbooks on the list to look through. He turned the list into Will Graham.

"Good, only three books we need to look through."

"Yes. But I do have some news, Starling took some of these items home with her the day she was suspended from duty."

"Then I guess we need to take a trip to her house then don't we?"

Will grabbed the keys on the table and drove to the duplex where Special Agent Ardelia Mapp currently lived. He knocked twice and Agent Mapp answered promptly.

"Hello Special Agent Mapp. My name is…"

"I know who you are."

"Oh, have we met before."

"No, but when your roommate was tasked with hunting down Hannibal Lecter, there are certain faces in those files you just don't forget."

"Ah, I see. Well then, do you know why I am here?"

"Here to gather the rest of the evidence?"

"Yes."

"Right this way."

Mapp lead him to the kitchen. There was a large brown box under the table that she reached for and pulled out. She placed it on the table and turned to look at Will.

"Here you go."

"Thank you."

Will picked up the box and turned to leave. Then a thought hit him.

"Did you see her that night? Or have you seen her since she has gone missing?"

Ardelia turned to look at Will and gave him a stern look, "No."

"Are you sure? Maybe she didn't sneak in previously or…"

"I said I haven't seen her. Frankly, I just don't care."

Will set the box down in the floor and looked through the items in the box. He noted the tapes were still there, some drawings, and two cookbooks.

"That's funny." Will glanced at Ardelia.

"What?"

"There is something missing from this box."

"Well then, I guess you better check back at the office."

Will stood back up with the box in hand and sighed, "Ardelia….are you sure there isn't anything you want to tell me?"

"I am sure. Now get that thing out of my face."

Will nodded and walked out making a mental note that he may have to pay a visit to Ardelia Mapp at a later date.

Back at Quantico, he set the box down and went through its contents. Agent Hill came into the room.

"Any luck?"

"The book we need is not here. My guess that it is currently in Starling's possession."

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out the list of three cookbooks. "Do me a favor, there are two books in this box, can you get me a copy of the third one that is missing? Whether it be an online copy, or find me one at a store. I just need a copy."

"You got it Mr. Graham."

Agent Hill took the list and located the book he needed to find online. He purchased a pdf file and sent it to his email. Hill glanced around the room. He opened up his email and attached the book as a copy as well as attached a picture of the message from the Tattler. He sent these files and began typing a short letter, "We are closer than we thought Already. Will is good. We should be able to find him. I know the instructions already. I will capture Hannibal and kill the rest." Hill sent the email and deleted it from his history. He transferred the PDF to a flash drive and handed it over to Will.

"Perfect. Let's start dissecting this immediately. We need to figure out where they are meeting now."

The team began deciphering the message that Clarice Starling left for Hannibal Lecter.

Meanwhile Lecter sat on a plane in California. He was set to land in Texas where he would take one more plane to Starling's meeting location. He mused at her choice and thought it fitting. My how his little Starling has grown. But he did wonder, when their paths crossed again, what would she do? He smiled and closed his eyes.

_All good things to those who wait_.

Lecter slept all the way to Dallas, Texas trying to drown out the screams of the small children on the plane. Once he landed, he took one more plane to the final destination and meeting place. As he made his final steps onto that plane, his heart rate spiked above 85.

_Such a feeling of excitement for once, perhaps because I have such a worthy playmate. I can't wait to see what else you have in store Clarice. I am already impressed by what I have seen so far._

Will Graham sat in a chair listening to the taped conversations between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. He made note that they were all dated, but some were missing. Hannibal's dungeon voice filled the room. It took Will back to the days of hunting down The Great Red Dragon. He remembered how he looked, with his hair slicked back and his pale blue prison attire. He remembered that the glass didn't seem thick enough to keep him away. That awful feeling of staring the monster in the face. And yet, listening to these tapes, he could tell Starling was not frightened of him. No, she met his every challenge.

"Clarice Starling….what about you intrigued Lecter?"

Agent Hill came bursting into the room with the message written down to give to Will.

"I deciphered the message, it was tricky, but it's all there!"

Will spun around in his chair. "Perfect! Let's see it."

Will looked at the piece of paper:

"You remember the ranch I grew up on Yes? The cattle ranch, seems fitting we meet there. Two days from now."

Will looked up at Agent Hill, "Get me Pearsall and the rest of the team, we are leaving now. If this letter is accurate, they should be meeting tomorrow. Let's get a move on, now!"

Pearsall, Agent Thacker, Agent Hill, and Agent Augustus all assembled in the room surrounding Will.

"We decoded the message! Agent Thacker did some research for me into Clarice Starling's childhood. She was orphaned after her father was shot and killed. She grew up on a ranch in Montana. That is their designated meeting place. They should be meeting tomorrow. We leave tonight. I want to get there as quickly as possible and scope out the area. Agent Augustus, you will set up a perimeter. I want you as our eyes. If anything moves other than us, shoot it. Agent Thacker, I want you stationed at the road. You are to observe and report any incoming vehicles in and out of the road headed our way. Agent Hill, I want you to check with the neighbors. Make sure there hasn't already been someone there recently. I checked the address of the ranch Starling lived at. That house has been abandoned for 4 years and is listed for sale. It's the perfect meeting location between the two. Secluded and very few people around. Let's move out!"

The team nodded and began packing. Pearsall approached Will, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you Will. Thanks to you, we finally caught them."

Will shook his head, "Let's not get too caught up in celebration. I will only consider this a victory when his cold corpse is at my feet."

The team made it to Montana in the middle of the night. The perimeter had been blocked off and now they played the waiting game. Will felt confident that this was his victory. He had completely immersed himself in all things Lecter/Starling. He caught the message he felt like no one could. All that was left, was to put a bullet between the monster's eyes. The old ranch house was rather large, two stories with an open lay out. There was a porch that wrapped around the front and sides of the house. The kitchen window could be seen to the left. To the right was a larger living room. Upstairs were the bedrooms and closet space. They had the entire plans of the house. Out back was an old shed that had been torn down, but not cleaned up. There was a large field out back with an old fence that was half falling down. The team waited all day, hour after hour, but no one came. Will had his men search the area over and over. He had them check the house, the local roads, and even the neighboring houses. But no one came.

Will let out a long sigh, "Something doesn't feel right." He picked up his radio. "Agent Augustus, you have the rifle in hand, yes?"

Agent Augustus's voice boomed over the radio, "Yea, I got it. Still no sign though."

"Keep your eyes open. I am going to look around."

Will left his post and began walking towards the dirt road. The nearest house was a couple of miles away. Graham had a passing thought. He got into his vehicle and drove down to the next house he could find. He got out and approached an older man and woman sitting outside. Will waved politely. The couple smiled and waved in turn.

Will started, "Evenin'. My name is Ben. I was looking to buy some property out here. I saw that old farmhouse down the road. Any clue who I could get in contact with? The sign says for sale, but I don't see a number."

The old lady stood up, "Have a seat dearie. My name is Grace and this is Clark. I think we have a card inside, let me find it."

"Thank you ma'am."

Will sat across from the Clark. "Are you from around here?"

Will smiled, "No sir, just looking to get away from the city. I searched online everywhere found this little house, but not much on it. Thought I would come check it out. Know anything about it?"

Clark nodded, "Yes sir, it was an old ranch house that used to care for sheep and horses, and the couple moved out about…"

Will's smile faded immediately, "I am sorry, what kind of ranch was it?"

Clark look confused, "Well primarily sheep and horses. I mean they had a few other things but…."

Will stood up, "Thank you for your time." He walked back to his vehicle furious.

Grace came out of the house with the card, "Young man! Did you not want this?"

Will climbed in his vehicle and drove off. Grace stared at the vehicle as it drove back down the road, "That was bizarre. What did you say to him Clark?"

Meanwhile Graham drove back to the old house where his team waited. He got on the radio. "I want everyone down here now. Agent Thacker, bring me a copy of the Tattler that contained that message again."

Pearsall came down the hill to meet Will, "What happened."

"Just let me see the paper."

Agent Thacker ran up with a copy, "Here you go sir."

Will grabbed it out of her hands and furiously flipped through the pages.

Pearsall snapped, "Will! Talk to me now!"

Will found the page he was looking for and snarled, "She made all of us look like fools."

Pearsall glanced down at the paper, confused.

Will held it up for his team to see. "This isn't a cattle ranch. It was for sheep and horses."

On that same tabloid column, on the next page, was a message from a "Little Lamb and the Horse."

Pearsall shouted, "Damn them!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Dr. Lecter stepped off the plane that had landed in Memphis, Tennessee. He felt it funny that Clarice had chosen this location, but also very fitting. He glanced down one more time at the note he had deciphered. It took him no time at all to pick up on the cattle ranch clue and to find the next. He stroked his fingers over the note:

Remember the place you first dared to touch me? Don't think I didn't notice.

Dr. Lecter knew this clue would probably take the members of the FBI more time to figure out considering the only people who saw them touch hands in that Memphis cell all those years ago were two police officers and Dr. Chilton, all of which, were now dead.

Lecter smiled, "Oh, if only the dead could talk Clarice, what tales they could spin."

He walked along the street elegant and poised. He walked along the perimeter of the building where he made his great escape all those years ago by wearing the face of a fallen police officer. He could remember the taste of his flesh. That was his first act of cannibalism since all those years of incarceration. And now? He yearned for the taste of Clarice's flesh. But did she feel the same?

Hannibal Lecter is unsure of what Clarice Starling's intentions are, but he gathers she, herself, is probably unsure. As he pondered all the possible outcomes, he saw a woman sitting on a bench. She had an athletic build and dark brown hair. She wore a tank top with jeans, and she had her hair pulled back in a ponytail. The tank top showed her arms off beautifully. He glanced down and noticed she had on a pair of Gucci sandals that had a heel in the back. He approved of the new shoe selection. She had changed several things from her outward appearance, but those eyes that held him whole, remained the same. He took a seat next to her on the bench. Her coral lips moved to shape the words, "Hello, Doctor."

"Clarice, the fugitive life appears to be treating you rather well." He could watch her eyes move all over him. Most likely looking for his hand, both of which he kept tucked away in his white jacket. "I'm all here Clarice, no need to worry."

Clarice blinked twice. Hannibal pulled his hands out of his jacket and placed them on his lap. "Doctor… why would you do that?"

The Doctor sighed, "Clarice, I will not waste time with such trivial questions. I think you know the answer, but I think you are afraid of it."

Clarice's facial expressions tensed, "I am not afraid of you."

Lecter smiled, "I never said you were afraid of me Clarice. It is your lack of fear in my presence that frightens you. When all others run, you remain standing. However, here we are now sitting on a bench in the middle of the scene of my great escape. How did you feel when they announced it Clarice? Announced that I had gotten away."

"…I felt… happy for you, but sad for those who crossed your path."

"And what of your own escape, Clarice? How did it feel to have your friends in arms coming to arrest you?"

Clarice looked the Doctor in the eyes and then straight ahead, "it felt a little ironic. The same men I called to come to the rescue, ended up trying to lock me away."

"They have always tried to lock you away Clarice. Maybe not always behind bars, but to a desk, to a dead end job, they have always tried clipping your wings."

Clarice glanced at him again, "And yet, when the opportunity rose to clip my wings, you instead took one of your own."

Dr. Lecter smiled, "Muddies the water a bit, doesn't it Clarice? Things aren't so black and white. Even since before the fish market, they have tried to get rid of you haven't they? But you stayed, why?"

"I thought I could fix it, make things right. I thought if just one person could make a change, then others could change to."

Dr. Lecter turned slightly to face her, "What made you believe that Clarice? Did you think back to when Daddy had been shot? Did you think if just one person had intervened, maybe he would still be alive? Did you think that by running way with that lamb in the middle of the night, you could save all of them? Clarice, if you want to save others you can do so, not by changing others, but by making that change yourself. You killed a police officer the night you escaped, for your freedom. He was doing what he was told. But you took matters into your own hands Clarice."

Clarice had tears forming in her eyes, but she refused to cry in front of him. She refused to let them fall down her cheek. "I did what I did so that I may survive. I did not do anything wrong, but I don't even know what is right anymore."

Dr. Lecter turned to completely face her now, "Why did you call on me Clarice? Why are you here?"

She turned to face him, mirroring his image, "Because right now, I believe you are the only one who isn't frightened by me, and who understands me. And you are the only one who feels right, at this moment. That is why I wanted to make a deal."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow at that, "Oh, and what do you have to offer in this deal?"

"I only have myself to offer Doctor. But there are certain rules I want to be made clear."

"Choose your words carefully Clarice, you don't want to say anything you might regret later. But I am a man of my word. Name your terms."

"First, I will go with you, but I need your help. I don't know who or what I am supposed to be anymore. I dedicated my whole life to the FBI ever since my father died, and now, I don't know who I am. All I know is that I am Clarice Starling. But I want to know what that really means. But I don't want you to touch me without my permission."

"Fair enough Clarice. I will help you."

A beat, "Doctor, in the case files….it said that Chilton tried a number of methods to get you to talk."

Dr. Lecter turned his head a fraction, "A petty and futile attempt to say the least."

"Why didn't those drugs work on you Doctor?"

"Because I had already experimented on my own mind some time ago Clarice. And much stronger concoctions than Dr. Chilton could conjure up."

"Why?"

Dr. Lecter stared off into the distance, "That story will have to wait for another time my dear. I had some memories that I was unable to see clearly. With the help of those medicines, I was able to remember things again in clear order that my mind had locked away."

"I want you to do the same for me."

Dr. Lecter's head snapped around to face Starling again, "No, that is too dangerous of a road Clarice."

"But not for you. I can bear it Doctor. With your help. I need this, please."

Hannibal Lecter considered her for a moment. His brave Clarice was getting much bolder than he could have ever imagined possible, "I will agree to it but on a condition of my own."

"Go Doctor."

"You are to listen to my instruction while going through the treatments. I do not want any barriers or lies from you Clarice. You will give me your honesty or it will be your life."

"Agreed. May I ask one last favor before we depart?"

"Careful Clarice. You have already asked for very much."

"I want to touch you just this once. I want to see what I feel."

Dr. Lecter's breath caught in his throat. But she did not wait for his permission. She reached up and slowly brought up her hand to caress his cheek. She held her hand there. His skin was warm and soft. Clarice felt like electricity was running through her hand. Dr. Lecter just sat there and watched her eyes. He brought his hand up to hers and stroked her fingers.

"A very dangerous game indeed Clarice."


	10. Chapter 10

To my dear readers and reviewers. I appreciate all of the comments and reviews. I read all of them and sometimes take inspiration from what to write next. As stated previously, this story is broken up into multiple parts. This next section is Part 2. This part will focus and center more on the Good Doctor and Clarice. This will show more of their character development and growth. There will still be some things going on in the background I will keep writing about, but very little emphasis will be placed on that. Most of it will be centered around our dynamic duo. So please continue to read and leave reviews. You all encourage me to keep writing.

Enjoy!

Doctor Lecter and Clarice Starling had fled the country together. They had traveled to Ireland for a time deciding to reside in Galway. Their house Dr. Lecter had acquired for them was very luxurious. Clarice blushed for the first time in their trip with Hannibal Lecter had introduced her as his wife. He smiled when she did not correct him. They had been in each other's company for 3 days now. They hardly spoke a word to each other. Both of them were trying to give the other space and comfort to readjust. Hannibal had been alone almost his entire life, even before his incarceration, he preferred being alone. Clarice had her roommate and a few friends at the FBI, but she herself was also used to being alone. She also had no clue what to expect from the Doctor, but on this morning the Doctor had chosen to initiate the conversation over breakfast. Clarice had come down the steps in khaki slacks and a cashmere top that held a green hue to it. She had her hair pulled back in a relaxed pony tail. The Doctor was dressed in a white shirt with grey pants. He was preparing eggs with sausage. Clarice smiled at his choice and thought that his selection was to please her and it did. He placed their meals on the table and began to eat.

"Clarice, how certain are you about doing this?"

She glanced up at him, "About being in your company, or about the therapy sessions?"

He blinked twice, "Perhaps a bit of both."

"Well…" She took a drink of her orange juice, "You have been nothing except a gentleman to me this entire trip. As for the therapy, I think that is necessary in order to better understand myself."

Dr. Lecter looked her in the eyes and held her there for a moment. She didn't falter or look away. She only stared into his maroon depths. "What have you done recently Clarice that has caused you to feel this way. It wasn't just the night at the Chesapeake."

"I killed a man."

Dr. Lecter paused and placed his hands under his chin, "Aside from the police officer that night?"

"Yes."

"Show me."

Clarice pulled out her phone and searched for the article covering the story and slid the phone to the Doctor. Hannibal read the article in full and slid the phone back to Clarice.

"I would like to hear your take on the matter little Starling."

"That man was trying to rape that woman Doctor, I did what I felt like was necessary."

Hannibal smirked, "Do your actions frighten you?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Before I couldn't imagine pulling the trigger so quickly, I needed time to think. But I didn't that night. I just executed and…."

She paused and started tearing up.

"And what Clarice?"

"I thought back to Mason Verger's and how, had I not rescued you, you wouldn't be alive. I thought back to when I killed that police officer taking me in and had I not done that, I might be in jail. I thought back to that shootout at the fish market, and had I just made the right move, maybe Brigham would still be alive. I thought back to when my dad was shot, and I thought that maybe if he just would have called it in, he would still be alive. I am tired of living a life of what if's and regrets. I wanted to take action into my own hands. And I did…and now two people are dead. But that woman is still alive, I am still alive, and you are still alive."

"Clarice, if you keep reflecting on the past, it will only pull you in closer and closer. If you are to confront these problems, I will assist you. However, I feel it is necessary to break your therapy up into multiple sessions so that I may pull you out when necessary. I don't want you lingering too long there. Your future is what is ahead of you Clarice. That you may alter and change how you see fit. But if you believe it is necessary to first face the past then I shall help you. I believe there are more things locked away in that brain of yours. Some things you may have forgotten. Some things that will be painful and some pleasurable. But never the less, know that no matter what happens, I will be here watching over you. Do you understand?"

"Yes Doctor."

"Follow me."

He guided her into the drawing room. He closed all the curtains and flipped off the lights. He then lit three candles and set them on the table. He fetched from the kitchen a silver spoon and placed it in front of the candles.

Dr. Lecter looked at Clarice, "Therefore behoveth him a full long spoon that shall eat with a fiend."

"What does that mean Doctor?"

"Nothing, just a thought. Now then Clarice, what I am about to show you may be unsettling. But I believe it's time we unlocked some of those dark corridors of your mind. No part of your mind should be left unexplored. By exploring each and every aspect, you may create doors and walls. You can build a castle, you can create open halls and rooms. Right now, your mind is like an untamed jungle. Which means there are unknown parts which can haunt you. While you are exploring the depths of your mind I shall keep a close watch on you. If I see you panic, I shall pull you out. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes. What is the spoon for?"

"An object of your concentration. See how the light plays upon the spoon and shimmers. Did your father's badge shimmer like that Clarice?"

"Yes."

"Focus on that Clarice look toward the spoon and remember that little girl who grew up in West Virginia."

Clarice glanced at the spoon almost in a daze. She sat on a couch that was large and overstuffed which made it very comfortable. The Doctor kneeled down beside her and watched her eyes. She had fierce fire in them. She was determined. Once he was sure of her resolve, he slid the needle in her arm. It stung only a little and Clarice barely noticed. Her eyes glazed over and she began drifting to sleep. Dr. Lecter caught her and laid her back on the couch covering her with a blanket.

"Be careful my dear. There are parts of even your jungle that are dangerous to enter."

Clarice awoke in a bed that was familiar to her, yet seemed distant. She yawned and looked around and recognized her surroundings to be her old room in her house in West Virginia. She stood up and looked at what she was wearing. She had on her pajama bottoms and top, but her body looked small. She glanced in the mirror above her desk and saw herself. She was very small, and her hair was short. She looked like a child again. She marveled at what was going on. She went toward her bedroom door and opened it. Her father was sitting in the living room on the couch eating orange slices.

She smiled, "Daddy!"

Clarice's father looked over, "Hey baby girl! Are you finally awake?"

She ran into his arms and he picked her up and held her, "Daddy, I am so happy to see you again!"

"What are you talking about sugar? I have been right here this whole time."

He placed Clarice on the couch beside him. "You have gotten so strong Clarice. You are growing up so quick on me." He handed her an orange slice and she took it.

"I wanted to grow up to be big and strong like you Daddy."

"Oh Clarice that is mighty flattering, but you are already much stronger than Daddy will ever be."

Clarice could hear the birds chirping outside. She glanced at the calendar on the wall and frowned. Today was the day of her father's death. She glanced back at her dad. He sat peacefully eating his orange slice.

"Dad…maybe you shouldn't go to work today."

He looked back at his daughter who was fidgeting with her pajama top, "Why not sugar?"

"I don't feel good today. Maybe you should just stay home and take care of me."

He smiled, "You already have someone watching over you while you sleep sugar. You don't need me for that."

"Who?"

"We both know who it is darling. Don't be silly."

"Dad, what if I were to tell you something bad is gonna happen if you go?"

"Well I reckon I would say a lot of bad things happen in this world darling. Sometimes that is what is meant to be."

"But we could fix that."

"Now Clarice, you can't go around fixing everything and everybody. We can try our best Clarice, but sometimes that's just the way things go."

"But…"

"Sometimes Clarice things happen we don't understand, but we find those people in our lives that do understand us and we help complete them just like they help complete us. Things aren't always fair, but we do the best we can with what time we are given."

Clarice started to cry, "But you left me."

He hugged her, "Clarice, if you ever need me, I am right here." He placed his hand over her heart. I am not going anywhere darling."

"I just wanted to see you. I…"

"I know Clarice. I have been watching you. I am so proud of the woman you have become. I am so proud of you. Never forget that."

He set Clarice back down on the couch beside him, patted her head, and kissed her cheek. Then he put on his hat and walked out the door. Clarice sat on the couch and cried and cried. Then she felt something. A warm hand on her cheek but no one was around. She heard her name being called.

"Clarice."

She opened her eyes and Doctor Lecter was standing over top of her with his hand on her cheek. She had tears running down her face.

"Sorry my dear. I would have let you stay longer, but I think that is enough for the first day. We can resume again tomo-"

Clarice sat up and hugged the Doctor as tight as she could. He remained silent and just let her hold him for a while.

"Thank you Doctor. Yes that's enough for today. Let's continue tomorrow."

"Therefore behoveth him a full long spoon that shall eat with a fiend." Is a quote from a work by Geoffrey Chaucer.


	11. Chapter 11

A shorter chapter I know. But I am building on the story and thought to give a smaller section first before introducing the next chapter which will be quite lengthy. Stay tuned.

Chapter 11

Clarice felt a lot of anxiety after the first treatment. Her mind seemed fuzzy and her thoughts seemed distant. She felt beside herself. Dr. Lecter told her it was natural and that eventually she would come to terms with it. Patience was never one of Clarice's strong points, but she trusted his advice. She was laying in her own bed and went over her thoughts. They all came up at once and she had to sort through the rush of emotions she was feeling.

_I have my own bedroom and bathroom…he has given me all the space I require. He does not barge in without knocking. He respects me and my privacy. Perhaps he is in his own bed and this very moment wondering what I am doing. What kind of things happened to him to push him to the point where he experimented on his own mind? Would he tell me if I asked? I wonder what I will see after tomorrow's treatment…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a gentle tap on her door. Three distinct knocks and Clarice knew it was him. He would not enter without her permission.

She smiled to herself. She lay in her bed nude, only a sheet was covering her body. Her smile grew more wicked. She decided to see what would come of this. She sat up in the bed ad pulled the sheet up to cover her breasts. Her nipples were hard under the cover. It would be easy to tell she had nothing on underneath.

"You may enter."

Dr. Lecter opened the door with a tray of hot tea and a bowl of soup. When he noticed her shapely form under the sheet, his breath caught in his throat and he nearly dropped the tray. Just a minor misstep. Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed, but Clarice did.

Ever the professional, he maintained his composure, "Clarice, I brought you some tea and soup to help with the side effects from the treatment."

"Thank you Doctor."

She began to stand beside her bed dragging the sheet along with her. It covered her, as she began the next step toward him. The last of the sheet trailing off the bed and behind her. It looked like a long train from a wedding dress. Dr. Lecter had stopped breathing for a moment and set the tray down on the dresser. When he turned back to face her, she closed the distance and stood right in front of him, with his back against the dresser. He still had not taken a breath yet.

"Do I frighten you Doctor?"

His breath hitched, "You terrify me Clarice."

She placed a hand in his chest and was surprised to feel his heartbeat hasten. She thought back to the poor nurse that he attacked, his heartbeat never went above 85.

"Why?"

He looked deep in her eyes, "Because you are a deep roller little Starling. Wild and unpredictable."

Their faces were so close to each other, they could feel their hot breath on each other's face.

"What do you want from me Doctor?"

"I don't think you are ready to hear that answer?"

"Oh? When will I be ready?"

"When the treatments have ended and Clarice Starling will be free. And only then."

"I am free now."

"No. You are under the influence of some very powerful drugs. While this person is a part of you, you are still not entirely here. You are feeling beside yourself are you not?"

Dr. Lecter took a step forward, now their bodies and chest's were touching, "When the day finally comes Clarice, there will be no more doubts or questions, but until then…" his lips were practically brushing against hers, "all good things to those who wait."

He turned to leave the room and gently closed the door behind him. Clarice was observing her self now. Her face was flush, she felt hot, wet, and her heart was pounding.

A dangerous game indeed.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hannibal had to take a moment to gather himself. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he placed his hand over it and began to take a few deep breaths in and out. He walked downstairs and sat in front of the piano in the big, open living room. His heart began to steady.

"How long has it been since I felt such a rush of adrenaline?"

His hands were hovering gently over the keys, caressing them. The ivory under his fingertips felt soft, but cold. Clarice's skin felt much softer, and warm…No, these were not thoughts he was allowed to think at the moment. Clarice needed him and for whatever reason he felt compelled to do so. Perhaps it was because he saw a bit of him in Clarice, maybe he felt like he owed it to her, or maybe he just cared enough to do so.

He began playing a soft melody, nothing in particular, he just played from feeling.

Not too long after he heard soft footsteps approach from behind, he turned a fraction, "Clarice, are you alright?"

Clarice was dressed in a silk night gown. It was a deep shade of crimson red, "May I sit with you Doctor or is my company unwanted?"

"Your company is never unwanted, Clarice. You may do what you like. You are not a prisoner here."

She sat in the large chair closest to the piano and watched him. "I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable Doctor. I came to apologize."

"Why apologize? Do you regret your actions?"

"…No."

"Then why?" The Doctor began playing faster.

"Because you left so suddenly I thought perhaps I had offended you."

"No Clarice, I was not offended. But I am currently acting as your Doctor in charge of your care, and until the cycle is complete I cannot get too close."

Clarice leaned forward in the chair, "Why is that?"

His playing paused and he spun around to observe her, "Do you truly understand what I am capable of? The drugs I give you are going to open your mind Clarice. You will feel like yourself and not yourself. I need you to truly see."

"Truly see what Doctor? You don't think I can handle it?"

"No my dear, you are very strong, I know you could handle it. I am worried I would not be able to."

"What do you mean by that?"

A beat passed. "A lot has happened in my life Clarice. I am but a small step in your journey and I hope to help you. I had to learn a lot of things in a very hard way. While I do not wish to reject your feelings towards me Clarice, I also want you to fully understand the situation before making your final decision. Whatever choice you make Clarice is yours."

"I wish I could have been there to help you Doctor. But I wasn't….but I can be now, if you'll let me. I know you don't trust anyone, I don't blame you for that. I am not asking you to trust me, I am asking you to accept me. You say I don't see the whole picture, that may be true. But I see you for what you are."

"Oh? And what is that? Monster, cannibal, Doctor, psychiatrist, lunatic…you can stop me when I am getting warm."

She stood up and approached him. She kneeled in front of him and put her hand on his cheek.

"No. You are none of those things."

He tilted his head slightly in anticipation, "then what Clarice."

"Given the chance Doctor, would you kill me?"

"No. If I wanted you dead, you would be so already."

"Then what do you want from me Doctor?"

"…just what you seek Clarice. Acceptance. You never answered Clarice. You said you knew what I was. So I am curious now. What am I little Starling?"

"You…are Hannibal."

It was the first time she had called him by his given name. It felt good to say and he enjoyed hearing his name roll off her tongue.

"Thank you Clarice."

"I am well aware of how dangerous you are. I an also aware of how brilliant you are too."

"Clarice your growth has been a wonder to watch. I hope you feel the same at the end of the therapy sessions. But only time will tell."

She moved her hand from his cheek to the back of his neck.

"Hannibal, the night of Paul Krendler's death, you stole something, it think it is only fair if I get to steal one myself in return."

"I told you Clarice, all good things to those who wait.'

She smiled, "Well now, you should know, patience has never been a virtue of mine."

She brought his lips to her own and kissed him. At first, he was resistant and her tongue probed his lips until he opened up to her. He then took over, placing his hand on her back to support her as he leaned forward and he gently guided her onto the floor. His mouth was consuming hers and she welcomed it. He only pulled back for air and to look upon her form. Her breasts were rising with each breath. Her breathing became irregular and her face was flush.

"Even Dante had to travel through all the layers of hell to finally meet his Beatrice in Paradisio. He depicted hell as being cold and freezing because it was the furthest away from God's warmth and love. There is also a constant wind blowing from Lucifer's giant beating wings."

He placed his hand over her breast and one stroked her cheek.

"Is that how hell was for you Hannibal? Cold and frigid?"

"Yes, cold and blanketed with snow."

He then laid down beside her on the floor. She rolled over onto her side to observe him.

"That same night I became the last Lecter of the family…"

She got closer to him and laid her head on his chest as he told the story of the little boy caught in a war who lost his family. Clarice could feel the tears welling up but choked them back. He did not seek pity or sympathy. He only wanted acceptance. He told her of how he hunted them down one by one and slaughtered them all. She knew he was no innocent. He was a frightening force, and she acknowledged that. He killed and she understood more. She didn't always agree, but she didn't have to. She simply understood.

Once he finished his story he just laid there for a while. Clarice was laying on her back glancing at him. He rolled over and was on top of her.

"Are you frightened of me little Starling?"

"I would be a fool to say I wasn't."

"Then why don't you run?"

"Because I believe you are the only one who can help me. I also believe I can help you."

He seemed satisfied with her answer. He then stood and helped her onto her feet.

"Its time to get to bed Clarice. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. There will be another therapy session. Also, I found an article you may find interesting in our favorite news rag."

He walked over to the piano and picked up a copy of the National Tattler. A picture of Will Graham was on the front, with the headline "Cannibal Catcher Back on the Case!"

Clarice nodded, "He will be dangerous for us, we must be careful."

"We will save this conversation for tomorrow."

He leaned in once more for a fearsome kiss, "Goodnight Clarice."

"Goodnight Hannibal."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Clarice woke up from a deep sleep. The smell of waffles, syrup, and eggs were filling the room. She hopped out of bed and got dressed in some jeans and a simple emerald green top. She pulled her hair back in a ponytail and went downstairs into the kitchen. Hannibal was still cooking.

"Good morning. Would you like me to set the table for us?"

Hannibal turned, "Good morning to you as well, and yes Clarice, everything should be ready in about 5 minutes."

Clarice gathered the plates, glasses, knives, forks, and napkins. She placed them at the table and turned toward Hannibal again.

"Are we going to resume after breakfast?"

Hannibal smiled devilishly, "My, my Clarice…so eager to resume where we left off last night?"

She blushed, "You know exactly what I am referring to. The therapy sessions."

Hannibal chuckled, "Yes my dear. But we need to give a little bit of time for the food to digest first. So we will give it an hour or so. Sometimes the medicine can cause some nausea."

"You never asked me about what I saw during the first session."

Hannibal walked over and placed the food on the plates. They sat down together and Hannibal began again, "That is entirely up to you Clarice. We are beginning to construct and lay the foundation for your memory palace. What goes inside and what you choose to keep are entirely up to you."

"Your memory palace must be quite elaborate."

"Yes, but I know every corridor and room."

Clarice looked down at her food then back up to Hannibal who was sipping on a glass of orange juice. She decided to take a chance.

"Do I occupy any of those rooms Hannibal?"

He nearly choked on the orange juice. He gave her an inquisitive look and she just smiled sheepishly.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes."

Hannibal leaned forward, "Yes Clarice, you are there."

"In what way?"

"We shall save that for another time. What is most important is that we get you prepared for today. The next session may not be as welcoming as the first. You may see things you don't really want to see. You must be ready."

"Alright."

They sat the remainder of the time quietly eating breakfast. After, Clarice and Hannibal went for a walk through the gardens in their backyard. The greenery was beautiful. Hannibal asked Starling if she wanted to take a drive in town together and she agreed.

They went to the garage where the supercharged Jaguar was. If there was one area where Hannibal and Clarice saw eye to eye, it was definitely cars. She loved the model he selected, and today he decided to surprise her. He tossed her the keys and she gladly accepted his offer.

"Are you sure Hannibal?"

"Of course Clarice. Have some fun with it."

She sped down the long driveway and out to the main road. Hannibal gave her directions to the main strip where they would do most of their shopping. She parallel parked the car on the street and started to get out but was halted by a hand on her shoulder.

"Please Clarice. Humor me." He climbed out of the car and walked around to open her door and he extended his hand out for her. She grasped his hand and they glided down the streets together. There were eyes observing the beautiful woman and the man that held her hand.

Unfortunately not all eyes are just observing, some are waiting in hiding, waiting to make a move.

Edward and Johnny Strauss aged 32 and 34 were brothers. Edward had curly brown hair that covered his forehead. He wore a black and white track suit. Johnny wore a suit and tie with his blond hair slicked back out lf his face. The brothers had 18 years of experience in their line of work as thieves, murderers, and rapists and they took pride in their work. They had been to jail before and had their routine down to the finest detail. The brothers had multiple approaches for multiple situations, and they always left it up to the prey to decide how they would interact.

The man was very protective of the woman and on guard. The woman herself was looking all around her very observant but also very interested in the man she was with. Her purse was a cross body strap that was in between her and the man. Therefore, a quick snatch and run would not be feasible. The keys she kept in her inside pocket closest towards the gentleman. Edward also took note that the man's wallet was not placed in the back pocket nor in a coat pocket. This one would not be so easy so he waited and followed, but not too closely. Edward noticed several times the gentleman looking over his shoulder at him.

_Does he know I am following them? No, it couldn't be. I have kept a distance and even walked in multiple shops. Better to stay further back. _

Johnny waited a block over. He and his brother texted each other back and forth to communicate what the prey was doing and how they should approach. Edward contemplated which skit he would perform for the couple and decided that the man would be the easiest to steal from. He looked protective over the woman and could use that to his advantage. The act usually went something like this:

First he would approach the woman being extra flirtatious acting like he was going to ask her out. The man usually steps in front of the woman and pushes her back approaching the man. Then he sparks an argument. Makes a dirty comment about the girl to make the man attack him. Then his friend Johnny would come around the corner acting like he knew no one and break up the fight. Johnny was very good at picking pockets. He could slide in and out before anyone ever noticed.

Edward sent one quick text to his brother: Operation Gentleman should work the best.

Johnny responded: Got it. Standing by.

Edward approached the couple and decided to begin the fun.

"Hey sexy lady. Why don't you ditch the old man and get with somebody more age appropriate for you?"

Hannibal and Clarice ignored him and carried on. The only acknowledgement he got was Hannibal glancing over his shoulder remarking, "Move along little boy, she is a woman not a call girl. She would break you."

Edward was furious, "The fuck you say to me? Bitch doesn't look like much to me. May be she would do better on her knees and…"

Edward was cut off by Hannibal spinning around and glaring at him with a look that could melt even the sun itself. Edward noticed a flash of silver in his hand and backed up. Clarice stepped in front to block the view of Hannibal's weapon from the man.

"Sir, my husband and I are very busy. As he suggested to you, I would run along before something bad happens."

About that time Johnny stepped around the corner and was confused when he saw Edward backing up and the woman in front of the man. The usual scene involved Edward tackling the man to the ground and Johnny would pose as a business man in a hurry to get to work. He would break up the fight by grabbing the man and pulling him off of Edward while simultaneously slipping his hand into the pocket to retrieve the wallet. But Edward looked to be retreating and so Johnny backed off and doubled back around to meet Edward at the café.

Edward backed off and headed back to the café as well. Hannibal and Clarice kept a close eye on the scene and noticed the man in the suit that quickly turned the corner.

Clarice turned to face Hannibal, "Charles. I do believe we were almost part of a scam."

"You are right my dear. How kind of you to spare them. I could have ended the charade a lot earlier on had you let me. He was being very rude to you. I would have liked to have seen him on his knees apologizing to you."

"They aren't worth your time or your energy. They are nothing."

They continued to walk down the street together. Meanwhile Johnny and Edward met a few blocks over. Johnny was seated at a table waiting for Edward.

"What the fuck man? What happened?"

"Johnny, that guy was hiding a knife."

"So what? Wouldn't be the first time someone pulled out a knife on you. I have your back."

"No! Fool. You aren't listening. I said he hid the knife up his sleeve. He didn't pull it out or brandish it."

"What does that matter?"

Edward took a seat next to Johnny, "One thing I have learned is you never fear the man who brandishes a knife and show a it off. Those are the ones who don't know how to use it properly. Those that hide it and protect the knife, those are the ones that know how to use it. He is skilled in its use. I can tell."

"Ex military?"

"No. He didn't seem the type. I think they are hiding something. Obviously rich, did you see that fucking car?"

"Maybe we should follow them."

"I want to know where they live. But don't forget what I told you. They are dangerous. We need to keep our distance and strike when ready. Johnny, let's go hunting."


	14. Chapter 14

A/N : I am for sure rating this chapter as M. Just be advised, there is a lot of gore in this one, but it will be nice to see the Doctor in action. Keep reading and as always, leave a review! Thank you to each and every one of you that has read this story so far. I appreciate all of you.

Chapter 14

Hannibal, always the gentlemen, led Clarice around the beautiful city. She enjoyed watching the sunlight play on his eyes. They were especially bright today, she loved how animated he was explaining the city and its various historical landmarks to her. He seemed….happy. But she was not fooled either. He was always alert, very aware of his surroundings, and always armed. She admired him for his skills. He caught her glancing at him.

"Something wrong my dear?"

"No. Just thinking is all."

"Oh? Anything you care to share?"

She grinned, "No."

He furrowed a brow at her but she just continued smiling.

After a time of touring the town they drove back home. It was time for the second treatment. Clarice braced herself for what she might see and Hannibal always did what he could to ease the experience. She laid on the bed and he lit 5 candles around the room and dimmed the lights.

After, He gathered syringes, needles, and the appropriate drugs for use. She was ready. She laid on the bed and looked over to him as he was prepping everything.

"Hannibal?"

"Yes?" He glanced over and saw her with a sad expression.

"What drove you to test these drugs on yourself?"

"There were memories I had locked away that were fuzzy. I couldn't make out the details and so I did a lot of research during my time in medical school. It took some adjustments, but I learned."

"Are those locked rooms what inspired you to build your memory palace?"

"Yes. I wanted full control of what I want and do not want to see. I wanted to be in control of my mind."

"Is that even possible to be in full control?"

He smiled, "No unfortunately not. Sometimes our emotions rule us."

"When was the last time you let your emotions rule you?"

He chuckled, "Probably the day I decided to risk my freedom for a game of cat and mouse with you my dear."

"I would have found you, I was close."

"After the letter?"

"Yes."

"I must admit that Mason was quite the nuisance in our little game."

"So you fed him to the pigs?"

"I find it rather fitting. He lived his life as a child molesting pig only to die groveling in the dirt and blood eaten by pigs."

He turned to prep her skin for the injection. She looked him in the eyes, "Oh yes. Sounds very poetic."

He smiled, "Are you ready?"

"What are you going to do while I sleep Doctor?"

"Doctor now? What happened to Hannibal?"

"You are my Doctor now aren't you? And please don't avoid the question, I know you noticed."

"Noticed what Clarice? You are going to have to be more specific."

"The car that followed us here. Sure they made a few turns we didn't and stayed about 4 cars behind. But I am sure it was those two men from the market today."

"Oh Clarice, don't worry about that, just focus on this treatment."

"So you did notice."

"Yes."

"And?"

"Nothing Clarice, Just going to have them over for dinner." His eyes grew dark and he stuck the needle in her arm. Within a few moments she was sound asleep. She grabbed his arm as his turned to walk away and he glanced back at her sleeping form. He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it gently.

"Not to worry my dear, I will not let any harm come to the walls of your palace while you construct it. These naughty boys must be taught a lesson."

Hannibal turned around and shut the door. Now that Clarice was sound asleep he could focus on the location of the men. It was as if he could almost sense their presence. Hannibal turned off all the lights except for the one in the kitchen. He sat in the dark chair in the corner and waited patiently. He would have some fun and some time to play.

Outside the luxurious house of Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling were Johnny and Edward. Only this time, they brought some extra hands. Two other men had come with them. Carlos and Tyson whom they met while in prison. They were good friends all part of the same group. All of them had matching tattoos on their right shoulders. The group had known each other for about 5 years now. Edward was the unofficial leader of the rag tag bunch. He gave the briefing of the situation.

"Two people occupy this home. An older man and a younger woman and they are loaded. This could be the big haul that gets us out of this damn place."

Carlos spoke up, "Only Two? Why did you need us? You made it sound like we were going up against an army." Carlos and Tyson chuckled.

Johnny stepped forward, "The old man spooked him. Said he had obviously had some former training and experience."

Tyson gave a puzzled look, "Training? Are you talking like military or a fucking cop?"

Edward spoke up, "No you fool! I ain't scared of no fucking cop. This man was different. You two should be thankful for my generosity. You get part of the riches."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Fine, what's the plan?"

Edward looked at the group. Carlos was the biggest, about 250 lbs of solid muscle. Weight lifting was always his go to. Tyson was tall about 6'0 with a wiry strength in his arms. Johnny was toned but not as strong as the other two.

Edward spoke, "Everyone locked and loaded?"

They all held up their guns a Taurus Judge 410. The name of their group was The Judge and all the tattoos resembled the small hand canon.

"Perfect! Carlos and Tyson you are with me. Johnny you take the girl upstairs."

Carlos retaliated, "Why does that loser get to have all the fun with the woman?"

"Silence! We get our way and we all get to have fun with her. Johnny you go in first, we will follow close behind, I am going into the garage to disable the vehicle so they can't escape. Carlos, you head in the house and find the old man. Tyson, you double around back make sure they can't get out of the house.

They all nodded and split up. That was of course the last time they would see each other alive.

Carlos made his way around the house and picked the lock. Of course it was always a 50/50 shot. Alarm? Yes? No?

Click

Carlos had a devilish grin. No. He stepped inside and took his time constantly hiding in the shadows. He could hear humming coming from the kitchen. He raised his gun and approached carefully. He noticed Hannibal peacefully chopping vegetables in a very neat arrangement. Hannibal grabbed a small hand towel and through it over his shoulder and disappeared out of Carlos's view somewhere to the left. Carlos approached the door ready to fire and as he stepped over the threshold he was met with a sharp knife at his wrist. Hannibal drug the knife across his wrist and severed the tendons and ligaments. Carlos immediately dropped the gun and tried screaming but Hannibal was at his back with the cloth smothering him in A mixture of acetone and bleach the perfect remedy for homemade chloroform. Carlos thrashed about but his body quickly grew limp in Hannibal's arms.

"One down, three to go."

Hannibal had a keen sense of smell, of course the foul odor these men left were a little too obvious and hard to miss even in such a big house. He heard a noise in the garage next and smiled. This is going to be real fun. He picked up a large butcher's knife and headed in the direction of the noise. Edward was crouched under the car stabbing holes in the tires. He heard the garage door open and the noise frightened him and he jumped back. But there was no one there. Tyson was waiting out by the back door and found the noise suspicious.

"What the fuck? I thought Edward was supposed the be taking care of the car…" he walked around to the garage entrance. "Edward what the fuck are you doing?" But when he came around to the entrance of the garage, Edward was no where to be found. Tyson walked around the car and saw Edward's lifeless body on the ground, but the head was no where to be found.

He backed up shaking, "What….the….fuck...I….I…gotta….g.gget out of here."

"A little too late for that, came a voice from behind." Tyson turned around and pointed the gun at Hannibal.

"Who in the hell are you?"

Hannibal tilted his head, "Now you are going to break into my house and demand to know who I am? It really doesn't matter at this point does it? All you need to know now is that you broke into the wrong house."

Tyson backed up while Hannibal stepped forward.

"Stay back or I will shoot."

Hannibal smiled, "No, you won't. You've already pissed yourself. I believe you are too frightened to do much of anything anymore."

Tyson kept stepping backwards until he tripped and fell over Edward's body. Hannibal had attacked then. Slicing his throat wide open.

"That should leave just one more."

Johnny was searching for Clarice, he made it into the house through the second floor window. He walked around and after about the third room, found the object of his search, Clarice Starling. Clarice was still lying in the bed sound asleep with the candles lighting the room. Johnny then took better notice of her sleek, toned, feminine form. He approached her slowly and glanced over in the corner to see a few medicinal bottles and some syringes.

"What the fuck….has she been drugged?" He touched her arm and shook her a bit but got no response. "What kind of shit is this?" He smiled, "Oh well, this makes the next step a little easier, he reached down to the zipper of his pants and started to undo them when a knife slid between his legs and sliced his member right up the middle. He started to scream, and then he felt the tiniest prick in his neck.

Then all faded to black.

Johnny woke up groggy. It took him a few minutes to collect his surroundings. He had a dark pillow case over his head and he couldn't see anything. His mouth was duck taped shut and his hands were bound behind his back. His chest and legs had been bound to a chair that he was sitting in. He mumbled and screamed as much as he could, but he couldn't make a sound. Then suddenly someone jerked the pillowcase off of his head. Then he laid eyes on the full dining table. There was a piece of meat laying on the center piece with a familiar tattoo on it. The tattoo of a gun. On top of the slab of meat with a spike going in from the base of the neck through the mouth was Edward's head. Johnny screamed and screamed, but the duck tape muffled most of it. When Hannibal came up and ripped it off, Johnny threw up all over his own lap. Hannibal came around to the other side of the table and had the most pleasant smile on his face. It was as if he was setting up a lovely dinner for a friend. He was dressed in a black suit, black under shirt, and crimson red tie.

"Good evening."

"W..w.w.what…..tt.tt.thee fuck is going on????"

"Well, I suppose I could catch you up, after all, you have been asleep for about 5 hours now. You and your three friends, which parts of them all lay before you, broke into our house."

"Who the fuck are you????"

"That my dear boy is none of your concern. Are there any others that were with you or is there anyone else who knows you are here? Don't lie to me or I will know."

"N..n.no."

"Good." Hannibal smiled.

"Why did you leave me alive?"

Hannibal stood upright and looked down on Johnny, "You have all committed crimes this evening that is true, but you committed the worst sin of them all. That is why I only see it fitting that you get special attention."

"What sin are you talking about, you are fucked up man!"

"So I've been told. Your biggest crime tonight was that you touched her."

"What?"

"You touched her flesh, that I'm afraid you are going to have to pay dearly for. You will not receive a quick death like the others. No, you and I are gonna have some fun." Hannibal smiled.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for the support. Please continue to comment! It always motivates me to do more. So in this chapter, we still stay with our favorite couple with a slight break in between to discuss what Will and his gang are up to. It's important that you know what Will is planning because it is key to how this whole story will come back together. Enjoy! The next chapter I have already started on and it will be quite lengthy. This chapter is a good setup for what is to come next.

Chapter 15

Clarice woke up when the rays of sunlight snuck in through the window and onto her face. She sat up in bed feeling calm and relaxed. She stretched and changed her clothes and hurried down stairs. She saw Hannibal sitting in his overstuffed chair reading the National Tattler and drinking tea. He glanced up over the tabloid and gazed at Clarice.

"Good morning."

"Mornin' Hannibal." She smiled, "How did you dinner date go last night?"

He raised his eyebrows in mock innocence, "Whatever are you talking about my dear?"

Her grin turned into more of a smirk. She walked closer to him and leaned over top of him placing her arms on the arm rests of the chair. Their faces were just a couple of inches apart. Clarice was closing the distance. Hannibal thought she was going for a kiss so he leaned in to meet her. She moved just enough and whispered in his ear, "You can't fool me with the blood on your sleeve. It is obvious what was for dinner."

He immediately pulled back and looked at his sleeves, when he found nothing, he inquired, "What blood?"

She started laughing, "Got ya! Now I know for sure there was a dinner party."

His face turned dark and he grabbed her behind the neck and pulled her in to a deep kiss. She was caught off guard. His tongue dueled her own and she felt flush.

When he pulled back her smile was gone and was instead replaced with a frown, "No fair. Playing with me like that."

"Its what you deserve for your mischievous games Clarice."

She stood upright, "What are you reading that piece of trash for?"

"While I don't believe half the things said in here, upon occasion, some interesting news does turn up."

"Oh?"

Hannibal nodded, "Will….back on the case with a whole team to track us down…this could get real fun."

He tossed the paper aside and looked to Starling, "How do you feel after that session?"

"More relaxed, I was too anxious the last time around. I found when I was much calmer, I was able to concentrate more easily."

"Excellent, you are a quick study my dear, quicker than I was."

Clarice blushed, "How many more sessions do you have planned exactly?"

"Potentially just one more, but I plan on giving you a long break between now and then."

"So, do I get to find out why you put yourself through that torment yet?"

Hannibal stood and took Clarice's hand in his own. He guided her to the couch and they sat side by side.

"I suppose you have waited long enough. I will indulge you Clarice."

He told her of many things, of his sister, his aunt, the criminals he hunted down and slaughtered like animals. He told her of all things. The bond they hold is growing stronger, but dark forces do not stay in the dark for long….

Will Graham was back at Quantico reading over the files. Pearsall came into the room and threw another file on the counter for Will.

"Here is what you requested."

"Thanks."

"So what's next Will?"

"What's next is Special Agent Ardelia Mapp."

"What? What the hell does she have to do with anything?"

"The cookbook that was missing from the box was the same one Starling used to contact Lecter. It is my theory that after Starling escaped, she went back to her duplex to retrieve some items and Mapp aided her."

"How do you know Mapp was even there? She could have been gone."

"No. She was home at the time of the incident. I know because I pulled phone records from the house." Will pulled out a file and handed it to Pearsall, "One was made to her grandmother, and the last one was made to a James Bennet. I guy that she has been seeing."

"Jesus Will…how did you get all of this? Are you investigating her as well?"

"In this game, no one is innocent Clint. If it's alright with you, I would like to set up a meeting with Ardelia here at Quantico."

Pearsall glanced at the paper then back up to Graham. He shook his head and handed the file back to Will, "Do what you have to do."

Clarice sat and listened to Lecter, she did not cry, she did not pity him, he respected none of those emotions nor did he seek them. Starling considered this a privilege to hear this side of him. Once he finished, she shut her eyes and whispered, "Thank you Hannibal."

Hannibal leaned in closer, "No, I should be the one thanking you Clarice."

She leaned in and kissed him, only this time he did not resist and try to slow her down. She slid over on the couch where their bodies pressed together. Hannibal slid his hands under the blouse she wore and she moaned. She began unbuttoning his shirt. Their actions became more frantic and less calm. Hannibal was finding it hard to control his emotions and Clarice welcomed it. She reached for his belt buckle and began to unfasten it. Hannibal's hands were at her breasts. The kissing became deeper and deeper.

Then the doorbell rang.

Clarice and Hannibal froze then turned their attention towards the door. Hannibal stood to buckle his pants and button his shirt. Clarice adjusted her hair and her blouse. Her face was still flush. Hannibal walked towards the door and opened it.

A man who looked to be in his late 50s stood dressed in a grey suit with a paisley tie. He had brown hair that was starting to grow silver at the roots. His facial features looked stern and worn with the years.

He smiled, "Charles! How good it is to see you!"

Hannibal smiled back, "Frank, what brings you here this fine day? Would you like to come in for a drink?"

"No, no. That's alright, I wouldn't want to disturb you. I just wanted to let you know I secured what it is you asked for."

Hannibal looked surprised, "How so? I thought the tickets were sold out?"

"Well….I may have pulled a few strings, but I got you two tickets." Frank pulled out two white slips of paper and handed them to Hannibal.

"Frank, I must say, I do owe you one after this."

"Nonsense. Now where is your lovely wife at? I haven't even gotten the chance to talk to her yet."

Clarice came up behind Hannibal and smiled, "Hello, it's nice to meet you." She glanced to Hannibal, "my dear you didn't tell me you were expecting company. I could have made some coffee and…."

Frank smiled and brought his hands up waving them in front, "No, no, madam it's ok. You see, Charles and I are members of a board. Charles just recently joined, but he has been very generous with his donations. He inquired about tickets for tonight's show, but they are all sold out. I managed to talk to the rest of the board and we secured the tickets. That is all I came for. My apologies, I didn't mean to interrupt."

He stepped back and bowed his head, "I look forward to seeing the two of you tonight."

He walked down the pathway back to his car. Hannibal closed the door and turned to face Clarice.

"I thought about surprising you with a lovely dinner and a show. What do you say Clarice? The choice is yours."

She smiled and kissed him again, "Dinner and a show at is, but after it's just me and you with a little fun of our own agreed?"

"Agreed."


	16. Chapter 16

Tonight their names were Charles and Isabelle Freedman. Hannibal and Clarice had not discussed marriage or what exactly they were. But for the crowd's sake, they thought it would make them blend in better to have their two personas married. Hannibal had never told Clarice about the fact that their new identities were married and she did not object when he showed her the passports and information. That pleased him.

Neither had really discussed what exactly their relationship was, all Hannibal knew was that Clarice had given up her life of enslavement to the FBI to join him, and Clarice knew that she had brought some peace to Hannibal's life. Neither of them had changed, but they have each grown in their perspective ways.

Charles waited downstairs while Isabelle got dressed upstairs. He was dressed immaculately in black suit, black undershirt, and an emerald green tie. His hair was slicked back and he stood leaning against the countertop reading the paper, elegant described him well. Isabelle descended down the stairs in an emerald green gown to match her husband's tie. It was very form fitting with the bottom flaring out slightly. The dress was strapless and showed Isabelle's strong shoulders. She had a necklace on with bright diamonds hugging her neck. She curled her hair and it framed her face nicely. For make up, which she did not wear often, she kept it simple with a darker nude colored lipstick and some mascara. Her shoes were also of a nude color, high heels that showed her shapely feet. When she came around the corner and Charles looked up his breath caught for a moment. His eyes widened and for the first time in their exchanges she got to enjoy the sight of him being surprised. He took a deep breath and came closer to her.

"Moments like this truly make me understand the way Dante felt for Beatrice. It also makes sense why he would assign her the role of his guide through heaven."

Isabelle smiled, "And shall I be your guide?"

Charles took her hand and brought it to his lips where he gently placed a kiss on her knuckles, "My dear, you already have. Do tell me, is this the infamous dress you tried on at the market the other day that I wasn't allowed to see?"

"Yes. You are a hard man to surprise, so I wanted to keep you in suspense."

"You always keep me in suspense my dear. Having said that, I am not without a few surprises myself. Before I show you, I want you to promise me something."

"Of course."

"No matter what, you must maintain honesty with me, and if, in anyway this gift makes you uncomfortable, you do not have to accept it."

Isabelle stiffened slightly, she had never seen him stumble with his words. If anything, she felt like he never ran out of things to say.

"You have my word."

Hannibal reached into his pocket and pulled out a black box. He brought it around for her to see and lifted the lid exposing the bright diamond ring inside.

Isabelle gasped, "That is….beautiful."

Charles waited for a beat, his heart was beating so loud in his chest he could hear it in his ears. For a brief moment he wasn't quite sure what he was doing. He just thought it felt…right. He wanted her for himself. He wanted her and her alone.

She took the ring out of the box, observed it, and a single tear ran down her cheek, "Would you place it on my finger please?"

He took it from her hands and slipped it on her ring finger, a perfect fit.

He started to speak, "I-"

"I love you." She interrupted.

He stood straight and still before her and smiled. He brought her in for a kiss, gentle and light at first. One hand was resting on her cheek the other was at the small of her back. When he pulled back, she kissed him this time bringing one hand behind his head to pull him in closer and the other rested on his shoulder. The kissing became more frantic. She stepped forward and pressed him against the kitchen countertop. She grabbed his tie and loosened it and he began to unzip her dress from behind.

"I thought we were going to dinner and a show Hannibal?"

"I will give you a show, Clarice."

He spun her around and now her back was against the countertop. She unbuttoned his shirt and he pulled her dress down. He then picked her up and carried her up the stairs.

"Back upstairs?" she asked.

He glanced down at her, "For what comes next Clarice, will take the rest of the evening, I want you as comfortable as possible before we continue."

"All evening? Promise?"

"Promise."

He carried her over the threshold into the master bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Needless to say, neither of them made it to their dinner reservations, or the show….

Will Graham drove to the old duplex that Starling and Mapp used to share. He knocked twice and Mapp answered promptly.

"Mr. Graham, what can I do for you?"

"I have approval from Clint to take you in for questioning."

"What?! For what? I haven't done anything!" Ardelia was outraged.

"If what you say is true then come with me, let me ask you some questions, then you may get on with the rest of your day."

"What the hell could I possibly be questioned over?"

"For assisting Clarice Starling in her escape."

"I didn't assist anyone in anything."

"But you were home the night she escaped?"

"Yeah, so what? Am I not allowed to be in my home?"

Graham was getting frustrated and pushed the door open hard knocking Ardelia back until she fell on the floor.

"I am getting sick and tired of the games, Starling already made a fool of me once, do you seriously think I am gonna let you do the same? Get up and get on the couch, now!"

Ardelia stood slowly and walked backwards keeping an eye on Will. She sat to the far right of the couch where she kept a tiny gun hidden away between the cushions for easy access if she needed to. Will sat on the coffee table looking her dead in the eyes.

"Don't think this is FBI protocol Will."

"Listen Ardelia, I have other people I need to question today. But first you and I are gonna have a long talk. Does this look familiar?" He pulled out a copy of the National Tattler.

She looked at it and back to him, "It's a news rag…what about it?"

"Well you see, Starling left Lecter a code in here…a sort of meeting grounds. I deciphered it myself based on the books Starling kept here in your home. The ones you gave me. Well, it turns out the book they were using was one that was missing from the inventory in that box."

"So? Maybe she took it out earlier."

Will laughed, "You must take me for an idiot. Starling was laid off and brought the box home, the next day she gets a call from Lecter and goes off chasing him. Then she ends up at Krendler's lake house dressed in nothing but a black dress. So when did she have time to grab the book? You want to know my theory? After she killed the officer and escaped, she came back here to get some things and the book. You just confirmed with me that you were indeed home, and I think you helped her. There is a certain timeline I know that Clarice was here. And please spare me the bullshit of I wasn't home when she was here, because I already pulled your phone records. Based on the timeline that Starling had and those phone records, I know you were here."

Ardelia sat staring straight at him with a look that could kill a man. She had to think, "That is all you have to go off of? A book? Please. That isn't enough to hold any evidence. Get out of my house Will."

Will shook his head, "I am only gonna say this once more Ardelia, did you assist the fugitive Clarice Starling?"

"No!"

Will stood upright and walked towards the door. Ardelia slid her hands between the cushions slowly reaching for the gun. His back was to Ardelia and he was staring outside.

"Do you have a way of reaching her?"

"No. I gave everything that I knew and have to the FBI. I haven't done anything." Her hand was resting on the gun now, but she kept it hidden between the couch cushions for now.

"That is all very unfortunate. Have a good day Miss Mapp. Thank you for your time."

He abruptly left leaving Ardelia on the couch speechless. Will made it the car where Agent Hill waited.

"Any luck Will? I thought we were taking her in for questioning."

"No, change of plans…she isn't talking. But I will take care of her personally later. Right now, there is one more lead I want to follow before I make my next big move."

"I didn't know you had another lead."

"The night of his escape there was a lot of blood found in the kitchen that belonged to Hannibal Lecter, forensics team said he wouldn't last long with that much blood loss unless tended to rather quickly."

"So what does that mean?"

"I don't know the extent of his injuries, but it means he would have needed help. I pulled up a list of colleagues he had near where Krendler lived. I came up with a very short list. He could not have gotten too far with that much blood loss, he would have needed to stay close and lay low for a while. The first one on my list is a Dr. Alexander Wright. He was closest in proximity to Krendler's house."

"What are you going to do with Miss Mapp?"

"That depends on how this next questioning goes. I may need to draw out Lecter and Starling. Lecter doesn't have anyone close to him that I could get to and neither did Starling. But she did have Miss Mapp, and from what I heard, the two were very close. In order to draw Starling out, something may need to happen to Miss Mapp. But until then, we shall continue with the questioning. I want to assess all my options before deciding what is the best course of action to take."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: To all my wonderful readers, thank you for your time and patience. I have just recently moved and it has been ridiculously busy! I wanted to say I hope you have all enjoyed the story thus far and as a reward, I have released two chapters! Fair warning, they are a little fast paced mostly because I want to kick start this story and really get it going. There are some big surprises revealed in both chapters so be sure to read them thoroughly and as always please leave a review. I hope you guys are ready for what's to come! Enjoy!!!!

Chapter 17

Will Graham and Agent Hill pulled into the driveway of Dr. Alexander Wright. Will glanced to Agent Hill, "Wait in the car for this one, it shouldn't take long."

"You got it."

Will got out of the vehicle and approached the front door, knocked twice, and was promptly greeted by Dr. Wright at the door.

"Yes? Who is it?"

"Special Agent Will Graham from…."

"Not interested."

He started to close the door but will stuck his foot out and caught it.

"Please sir, you aren't under arrest, this isn't an investigation, I just want to ask a few simple questions then I will be out of your hair. I promise."

"I know who you are Mr. Graham. I am not interested in talking with the authorities. I haven't done a thing wrong."

"I never said you did. I am actually working down a list and you just so happen to be one of those stops on the list."

Wright glanced at Will up and down and back up again, "Are you armed?"

"No sir."

"Show me."

Will pulled up his shirt and showed Dr. Wright his waistband, then he bent over and rolled up his pant leg, and lastly he rolled up his sleeves and turned around.

"Satisfied?"

"No, but you may enter."

Will stepped across the threshold. "Lovely home you got here sir"

"Thanks, we can sit in here."

They sat on the couch across from one another, Max, the loving dog came into the room and sat next to Dr. Wright, eyeing Will.

"So what's this all about?"

"First off, may I ask why, during the Lecter trials you did not testify or come to any of those events? You were called for questioning, but refused."

"I am not testifying against a friend."

"A friend? Is that what he is to you?"

"Yes."

"Care to explain why?"

"No, that is none of your concern and is personal."

"Did you partake in Dr. Lecter's acts of cannibalism?"

"No."

"When did you last see or have contact with Dr. Lecter?"

Dr. Wright shook his head, "Special Agent Graham, if I may say so myself…I just told you I would not testify against a friend. So, what on Earth, makes you think I would tell you anything?"

"So you admit that you had contact with him?"

"No, I never said that. But I don't have to say anything to the likes of you on the matter."

Will knew, he always had that keen sixth sense that Hannibal always admired him for. Will had this ability to know when someone was trying something with him, he could feel it. But alas he had no proof. He figured Dr. Wright wouldn't speak. But as always, Will thought one step ahead and was ready to take a different approach, so instead he stood up and turned his attention to Max.

Will reached out a hand and Max came over to Will to investigate, sniffing away at his hand. Will slipped a little microphone clip under the dogs collar out of sight while he stroked the dog and pat his head. Max was happy, tail wagging back and forth.

"I won't take up anymore of your time Dr. Wright, but all that I ask is that if you think of something that may assist in our investigation, you will give me a call."

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out a card and handed to Wright.

"That has my extension on it."

"Yes, have a good day Agent Graham."

He walked Will to the door.

Will had his back to Dr. Wright when he suddenly stopped in front of the door. Will thought that rattling his cage a little might set his plans in motion, "Do you want to know why I am questioning you?"

"Not really."

Graham turned to face Alexander Wright, "We found a large amount of blood at the crime scene where Hannibal was last known to be. When we ran the blood, turns out it was all his. The doctor at the crime scene stated that Dr. Lecter could not have gotten far sustaining that kind of injury for long without bleeding out. Your house is actually not far from the crime scene itself. I think that the night Hannibal Lecter fled that he came here and you assisted him. That is why I am here to question you today."

"Well sorry you had to waste your time for nothing." Dr. Wright stood firm.

"We shall see about that Dr. Wright."

Will walked back to the car and climbed in. Agent Hill started the car up and they were off down the road.

"Did he tell you anything?" Agent Hill asked.

"No."

"As expected, did you plant the chip then?"

"Yes."

"Perfect. Who's next?"

Will smiled, "You will see. I have the directions here, just follow them."

Agent Hill nodded and drove to the new location but became puzzled upon arrival. "Sir, this is just an empty building what…"

When Agent Hill turned to address Will, he found himself staring down the barrel of Will's gun.

"Get the fuck out of the car Agent Mitch Hill."

"Sir…I…."

"Now!"

They stepped out and around the vehicle and Will ushered him into the empty house shutting the door behind him. The room was large and empty. The only source of light came from two windows that had been broken. One chair sat in the middle of the room.

"Have a seat."

Agent Hill nodded and sat down in the rickety chair. It squeaked when Hill sat down.

"Who do you work for?" Will probed.

"The FBI sir."

"Bullshit! Don't start lying to me, or you may not survive this encounter. Who do you work for?"

"I don't understand…"

"No? Then let me clear this up for you."

Will reached into his pocket and pulled out several folded pieces of paper tossing them towards Hill. They scattered across the floor and Agent Hill bent down to read them. They were copies of emails he had sent with the progress notes of the Hannibal Lecter case.

"You have been sending these emails since you started the case with me, I found them in your records. You see, Agent Hill, I don't trust anyone. So of course when I was assigned a team, I researched each and every single one of you. Now the other two, standard, came back clean. But you? Oh let me tell you, I found some interesting information on. You requested to be placed in charge of questioning Hannibal Lecter numerous times throughout your career and you were denied. Then you requested to be placed in charge of the Buffalo Bill case, but you were also denied in favor of Starling. When the Hannibal case was reopened, guess what? You requested to be placed in charge of the hunt. And you were denied AGAIN. So my question to you is, who do you work for and why do you want Lecter so badly? Say you don't know, and I will put a cap through your knee."

Agent Hill sighed, "This….started long before you, boy."

"Agent Mitch Hill 47 years of age, joined the FBI rather young, and I couldn't find anything much of a history on you other than your schools and academics. So you tell me about you."

"You will have to shoot me Will."

Will rubbed his eyes, "Listen, if its Lecter you are after to kill, don't you and your cohort understand we are on the same team? That I can help? If we work together, then it's all the more worse for Lecter."

"Lecter and the girl have already been found. We don't need your assistance, you pathetic drunk."

"What?"

"My supervisor, was very, very close to Lecter. That little note Starling posted in the National Tattler to Lecter? My supervisor was able to dissect it whereas you were not. But no worries, it wasn't all your fault. My supervisor has all the tapes from the dungeon between Starling and Lecter and has them memorized. Admittedly it did not name an exact meeting location, but my supervisor was already able to narrow it down between three locations. This first being the dungeon, the second being Memphis Tennessee, and the third and final being Mason Verger's estate. Obviously the third didn't make much sense because of the ongoing investigation, the first one wasn't to good of an idea either because that hospital has been condemned and could admittedly fall in any day now, and that just leaves Memphis."

"That is where they met?"

"Yes. There are eyes on them."

"Lecter will find out."

"He hasn't yet."

"Only because they have been at a safe distance with no interaction. But what happens when your so called men move in? Did your 'supervisor' think that far ahead? This is where we could be working together. I could prove to be a distraction or vice versa and the other could take the shot. You know why I believed everyone has failed up until this point? Because everyone thinks individually. No one goes together. Everyone thinks they are smarter. But no one is. When he spots your men, they will all die. Your best bet would be to enlist my help. Now what do you say to that?"

Agent Hill's phone suddenly started buzzing in his pocket. But Hill made no move to reach for it because Will constantly kept his gun fixed on him. Will reached out his hand and motioned for Hill to hand him the phone. Mitch slowly reached into his pocket and passed the burner phone over.

Will kept his eyes on Hill as he flipped the phone up and put it to his ear, "Is this the infamous supervisor I keep hearing so much about?"

"Yes," a woman's voice filled the phone. "Agent Hill wears a big anytime he is doing field work with you. I assume you knew that since you didn't check him prior to your conversation. So I guess you wanted me to hear it?"

"Yes."

"I must say I do like the offer. But you will be the distraction for my men to take the shot."

"How soon can we meet?"

"Tomorrow morning. You and Mitch will fly here so we can discuss this further."

"We will be there. Might I ask one question before we end this discussion?"

"You can ask, it doesn't mean I will answer."

"There is only one person still alive, that's close enough to Lecter to have this much information. Are you Lady Murasaki?"

"You are good Will. I do believe that together, we can finally put a stop to the monster."

"I couldn't have said it better myself."

The phone call ended and Will tossed the phone back to Hill, and turned to walk off. "Let's go, we need to get ready."

"Are you going to tell the others?"

"No. This stays between us. I don't want the FBI to ruin this chance."

"Right." Agent Hill stood and walked out the door with Will.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Two months later

Clarice and Hannibal had moved twice since Germany. They currently resided in Ireland. Hannibal had taken Clarice to numerous shows and let her explore the world through his eyes. She had also tried her hand in the culinary arts through Dr. Lecter's tutelage. She was becoming rather good at it as well. They had just flown back from Buenos Aires and Clarice had been sick all morning long. Hannibal thought it was from all the recent traveling and climate changes they had gone through. He waited upstairs outside of the bathroom and heard her retching.

"Darling, I am going to the store to pick up some things for you. Do you think you will be alright here by yourself for a while."

Clarice called from the bathroom, "Yes, I will be fine thank you. Just be careful."

"Alright. If you need anything else just call me."

Clarice waited until she heard the familiar sound of the car fire up in the garage. She looked out the window and saw him driving down the long winding driveway out of sight. She sighed in relief.

"God, what am I thinking?" She rested her feverish head against the cool window. She grabbed her purse and pulled out a single pregnancy test. Hannibal never went into her purse without permission so it was the easiest place she could think to hide it. She bought it from the store about three weeks ago and it had been there ever since. She got it one night when she went out alone to go shopping. She had missed a period and it was beginning to worry her. But she felt too afraid to even take the test.

She exhaled, "My dear Hannibal, what would your reaction be if you knew? Happy, sad?" Clarice had not had any more of Dr. Lecter's therapies in months, but she feared when he wanted to start back up. If she refused, would he figure out quickly?

"Calm the fuck down girl! You haven't even taken the damn test yet. We might not even keep it, we are two fugitives on the run, how in the actual fuck would we be able to raise a child?"

For the first time in their relationship, Clarice felt alone. She found herself missing Ardelia. She just needed someone to talk to about this other than Hannibal but that wasn't really an option. She placed back and forth in the restroom throwing up every now and again in the toilet.

She pondered, "A child to carry on his legacy, our legacy…the Lecter name would not be dead. But is that fair to a child? Damnit, damnit, damnit! Just take the fucking pregnancy test you coward!"

She glanced at the time on her watch. She had about 45 minutes before Hannibal would come back.

She sat on the toilet and ripped the packaging to the pregnancy test. She decided to go through with it. When she was finished, she placed it on the sink and waited the recommended two minutes.

"The instructions said if it is a minus then I am not pregnant and if it's a plus then I am pregnant. Please, please, please be a minus."

Those two minutes made Clarice feel twice as sick and nauseous. When the time was up, she glanced at her watch again. She found herself scared to look. She stood back up and glanced at herself in the mirror, then glanced down, and then her breathing stopped. There, plain as day, was all the proof she needed that Hannibal was indeed not the last Lecter. She grabbed it, wrapped it in toilet paper, and trashed it. Clarice's breath became shallower and shallower. She felt light headed. She reached for her phone to call her husband.

Hannibal was standing in line waiting to check out when his phone started ringing. He picked it up and answered, "Hello."

Clarice froze when she heard his voice and started to tear up, "I….uhhh…."

Genuine concern filled his voice "Is something wrong my dear?"

Clarice brushed it off, "No….I just wanted to know if you could pick me up some soup….or something for my stomach is all….."

"Of course, just get to bed my love and relax."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure that is all? You sound upset."

Clarice cursed herself, "Yes, that's all. I guess I just feel a little worse than I thought."

"Alright, I am standing in line. I should be home in about five more minutes. Just try and get some rest."

Hannibal hung up.

Clarice kept the phone in her hand a moment longer staring at her reflection in the mirror. She glanced at her watch. "Something is wrong."

Hannibal purchased all the items he needed, glanced down at his watch, and started to walk outside and then stopped. He looked outside at a nearby building and smiled, "Interesting."

He picked up a newspaper and pretended to thumb through it for a moment.

Outside in the adjacent building, armed with a sniper rifle was Agent Mitch Hill. "Target acquired."

"Good." Will said on the other end of the radio. "Stay on him."

Hannibal waited until a small group of people started to leave and he walked out with them and went around the other side.

"Shit I lost him. He walked around back." Agent Hill said, "You may want to tell the boys on the ground to close in."

Hannibal made his way down the street and noticed two large men following him. Across the street was a man leaning against a motorcycle glaring at him. Hannibal made a quick turn to the left back to his car. Hannibal then pretended to drop his keys and when he bent over to pick them up, he pulled out his knife. Then he walked into an alley.

One man stayed close and came around the corner to catch up only to meet with Hannibal's knife in his throat. Hannibal quickly grabbed his body and sat him against the wall. He quickly searched his pockets and found a gun.

"I see, so you weren't ordered to take prisoners this time around."

Hannibal stood and walked back out of the alley and into a busy coffee shop. Hannibal stepped into the bathroom and another man was quick to follow behind, only to once again meet Hannibal's knife as he came through the door. Dr. Lecter dragged his lifeless body into one of the stalls and shut the door. He then made his way out of the coffee shop and out onto the street.

"That leaves two," Hannibal whispered.

Agent Hill spoke into the tiny microphone again, "He got two of them already. That just leaves Chris. But I still have eyes on his car, if he even tries to come back to it, he is done."

Hannibal looked at the last man from across the street. Still leaning against his motorcycle. Then he glanced down at his watch. "27 minutes sounds about right."

Hannibal walked down the street and the man began to follow. Hannibal walked into a large crowd of people who were shopping with the street vendors. The man tried to get closer and closer, the crowd was making it difficult. He pulled out his gun and kept it low under his sleeve so as not to startle anyone. He finally caught up to Hannibal and reached all the way to his back when suddenly, Hannibal spun on his heels and swiveled around stabbing the man in his groin. He didn't make a sound and Hannibal gave a devilish smile and apologized for bumping into him as he moved forward.

"That leaves one."

Hannibal rounded the corner back to where his car was located and glanced down at his watch.

"43 minutes. That should do it."

He then stood in the middle of the street glancing up at the building as if staring down the man inside himself.

Agent Hill came on the radio, "He got them all, but he is just standing there. I don't understand, it's like he is daring me to take the shot."

"Then take it you fool!"

Agent Hill froze when he heard the hammer of a gun being pulled down behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A voice came from behind.

He jerked around to notice Clarice standing behind him gun armed at the ready.

"How? We heard your phone conversation. He didn't call for you!"

"This may sound silly, but when you are with someone day in and day out, you really get to know their mannerisms. He knew that if he tipped me, you would be expecting my arrival and thus ruin the surprise and probably set another trap up. So instead he told me in another way. He told me he would be home in five minutes, not that it matters to you since you will be dead soon, and not that it matters to whoever is on the other end of that radio because they will be dead soon too. But it takes at least 35 minutes to get from our house to the market. If he was still in line that would be virtually impossible to do."

"But how did you know I would be here in this building?"

"That part Hannibal texted me, I am sure while he wasted one of your men."

"That is why he was so observant with his watch!? That's it?"

Clarice smiled, "Well that, and also he never hangs up the phone without saying 'All my love darling.'"

Agent Hill cringed, "You are just as sick and twisted as he is!"

"Get up. My husband and I would like to have a word with you and whoever is on the other end of that radio."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Hannibal ascended the stairs of the old abandoned building where Clarice and the shooter awaited him. He smiled and marveled at how quickly Clarice was able to pick up on his mannerisms. True they had spent a lot of time together recently, but the fact she was able to read him so fast both fascinated and frightened him. By the time he had sent her a text of the sniper's whereabouts, she was already in the car on her way to him. Truly this pair is more dangerous together than separate.

Hannibal opened the door and found Clarice standing off to the right with her gun fixated on a man in an old metal chair arms bound behind his back, chest tied down, and legs tied to the legs of the chair.

Hannibal smirked, "So what have you found out thus far my dear?"

"FBI agent, so I can only guess that he was assigned to the group lead by Will Graham to hunt us down. He also had a whole set up by the window, a couple of days worth of food, water, sleeping bag, and a cyanide pill in his pocket."

"Not the usually FBI tactics, so are you really FBI or is that the cover up?"

Mitchell did not reply. Instead he looked ahead, eyes glazed over, and a stern look adorned his face.

"Not much of a talker I see. Well that is of no concern to me, I can always make you talk anyway." Hannibal exclaimed with a grin and he pulled out his knife and approached the agent.

Mitchell started, "Do whatever it is you have to do, my mission is at last complete."

Hannibal stopped and gave a sideways glance, "Oh? So you were sent here to die? Because that is the only thing you have accomplished here."

Mitchell began laughing, "I know you aren't used to hearing people say this to you Doctor but you are wrong. I have accomplished a couple of things on this mission. The first was to insure the involvement of Clarice Starling." Mitchell glanced over at Clarice and winked.

"You see, my supervisor has been watching you for years, and they were not entirely sure whether you were forced into this, drugged, or whatever the cause may be. Dr. Lecter is indeed capable of that and much more."

Clarice stared the agent down, "I know exactly what my husband is capable of. Watching me for years you say? How long?"

Mitchell smirked, "Since the Buffalo Bill case. You see, my supervisor enlisted my help to get close to Lecter, close enough to kill him even back then. I originally requested to be the one to question Lecter about Buffalo Bill when it was first brought up to the Bureau for discussion. But of course I was denied in favor of you, FBI trainee Clarice Starling. Of course, my supervisor assumed Lecter would do to you just like he did the others. He would break you apart and shut down."

Agent Mitchell glanced back at Hannibal, "But he didn't, he communicated with you. He spoke to you. Then my supervisor took an interest in her, Clarice Starling, The Bride of the Cannibal. The new mission became to test the validity of that."

Hannibal stepped forward, "And what was the second accomplishment of this so called mission?"

Mitchell turned his head toward Clarice, "She has my radio, my hands are tied, if you let me say the password over the radio, you will find out why."

Clarice and Hannibal glanced at one another. Hannibal nodded and walked to grab the radio from Clarice. He then turned and approached Mitchell. He placed the radio next to Mitchell's head then pressed the button.

Mitchell stared at Hannibal the entire time, "The Starling is Dead."

Hannibal removed the radio and they waited. Soon a voice was heard over the radio.

"Lecter….can you hear me?" Will's voice echoed through the speaker of the radio.

Hannibal smiled, "Why Will, such a nice surprise. Maybe next time you plan a party, you should join in as well."

Will's voice came back on, "I wasn't referring to you Hannibal, I was referring to the other Lecter in the room. If Starling is dead, she must have taken on her new name with you right?"

Clarice stood still looking toward her husband. In this moment an epiphany of sorts hit her. Before her, and this unborn child, he was indeed the last Lecter. Last of his blood, last to carry his name. But now….with her….with this baby….the legacy may still live on. Her husband, finally had an heir. But now was not the time for those thoughts. No, now there was an enemy at their front door waiting for them.

Clarice spoke up, "That is rather cowardly of you to send a group of men to try and kill us. Although, if I may be honest, this was a pathetic attempt."

Will spoke up over the radio, "I never intended to kill either of you, honestly, if this was enough to kill the two of you, my job would have been very easy. The only purpose of this mission, was to get your attention Clarice."

"My attention? Why do you need my attention?"

Will snickered, "I have something that belongs to you and I wanted to know if you would like it back."

All of a sudden, Ardelia's screaming voice came over the radio. "Clarice?! Are you there? Don't listen to him, he is insane….." the voice suddenly ended.

Then Will's voice came on again, "If you want her back, I will give you a place and a time for us to meet. If not, I will save us both the trouble and just kill her now. Your choice."

Clarice looked to Hannibal, eyes clear of any emotion, "What is it that you want in exchange for Ardelia?"

"A chance encounter with the two of you. Like I said if you want her then come to me. If not, she will die now. So decide. 10…."

A click of a gun could be heard.

"9…."

Ardelia screaming.

"8…"

Agent Mitchell started laughing.

"7…."

Hannibal interrupted. "Deal."

The counting stopped. Will spoke again, "My house, in Key West. I am sure you remember the place. Two days. Meet me and Agent Mapp there at 5:00pm. Don't be late."

Hannibal responded, "Remember Will, it was you who asked for this encounter. Don't be disappointed now when things don't go your way."

Then the radio went dead.

Agent Mitchell spoke, "I was never intended to survive this. So now you see what my purpose is for."

Clarice stood still, face expressionless.

Hannibal approached her, "We will get her back."

Clarice turned to look at her husband, "I know. I was just thinking that Agent Mitchell still had one more purpose."

She turned to face him and reached for Hannibal's knife. "And that purpose is for you to die by my hands for every pointing a gun at Hannibal."

On the other side of the world Will stood in a separate room from Ardelia with Lady Murasaki.

Lady Murasaki began speaking, "Do not let Mitchell's death be in vain Will. Or I will take your life."

Will turned to look at her, "He is the one that volunteered. All those other men were inmates, we needed someone trained to lead the group. He did well. And now the rest of the plan unfolds. Hannibal has no idea you are working with me. So, I will be the bait this time along with my men so that you and your group can kill the monster when the time is right."

"Did you not see what happened to these men? The two of them working together Mr. Graham, they are more dangerous together."

"She is nothing more than a pawn to lure him in."

He turned to leave the room.

"Keep underestimating her Mr. Graham…and she will be the death of you."


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: This is a shorter chapter I know, but it's because this story is fixing to pick up the pace FAST! So please read up, tell me what you all think thus far. We have finally made it to Chapter 20, Part III. There are going to be some major story developments. I appreciate everyone's input good or bad. The next chapter I will be releasing very soon because I am already in the process of writing it. So please stay tuned and get ready.

Chapter 20

Part III : Thus Begins a Brave New World

Hannibal exited the building with Clarice in hand. They both got in the vehicle and began there drive to the nearest airport. Hannibal had insisted on driving so that Clarice may get some rest. She sat next to him in the car staring out the window. The low rumble of the vehicle was the only sound to be heard between the two.

"Clarice… I know you were feeling sick earlier. Are you alright now?"

"Yes. I am fine." She continued to gaze out the window.

"We will get her back you know that right? If that is what you are concerned about, I will put your mind to ease now and…"

"That's not what I am concerned about. I mean it is, but…." Silence again.

"You can tell me anything Clarice."

She turned to look at him, "We are obviously walking right into a trap. He will have men covering that place. What makes you so sure that we can pull this off?"

Hannibal smiled, "Because I have the FBI's top shooter with me covering my back. That is how I am so certain. Alone, you are correct, this would be rather dangerous."

Clarice returned the smile but it was faint. Then her thoughts drifted back to the baby.

"Hannibal….I have something important to tell you…."

Hannibal glanced over, their eyes meet one another, "What is it?"

"I…" a pause as they continued to look at one another, "I…."

Her mind screamed at her: _DON'T TELL HIM YET! HE NEEDS TO FOCUS HE CAN'T BE DISTRACTED. If he is distracted and too concerned with me, he could be killed._

"I was thinking that maybe, we should stop off somewhere so that I can pick up a few more guns. I don't think he will bring the entire FBI with him, but I know he has a team. If he is planning an ambush, I need to be better equipped if I am going to cover you."

Hannibal thought about her words for a moment, "I will entrust that task to you. Whatever you may need, I trust you."

She closed her eyes and sighed.

"But Clarice…"

Her eyes shot back open, "Yes?"

"When all this is over, will you tell me what it was you were truly thinking in that moment?"

She smirked, "Nothing gets passed you, huh?"

He turned and winked at her and she began laughing.

"Everything will be fine my dear."

Back in the Florida Keys, Will was making preparations for Hannibal and Clarice's arrival. He walked into the room where he kept Ardelia handcuffed to a chair.

He approached her smiling, "Well Miss Mapp…it would seem you have proven useful, despite all the lies in the beginning."

"Go fuck yourself Will."

He crossed his arms, "Now, now…that is no way to be talking to me since I am the one that holds your life in my hands."

"Then just kill me already. I would rather be dead than see Clarice with that thing."

"So I am a little confused by that statement. You claim that you are disgusted by the thoughts of them together yet you assisted her. Seems a little contradictory if you ask me. Care to elaborate?"

Ardelia shook her head, "It's called being a friend Will, something I don't think you understand. Sure I didn't agree with her decision, but she was going to leave with or without my input. I would rather see her off than put a bullet through her skull in the name of the FBI. An organization that has fucked her over more times than I can count."

"How noble. But no Miss Mapp, I am not going to kill you. Despite what you may think of me, I do not wish you dead. You were merely a tool to get this whole plan into motion."

Will moved to stand behind Ardelia, "Did you know that your boss Clint Pearsall knows you are here?"

Ardelia's breathing faltered for a moment, "What?"

"Well you see, I had to make all the necessary precautions. But if it makes you feel a little better no one else in the FBI is in on this. Guess you and Starling both got fucked over."

Ardelia lowered her head, "Why?"

Will got very close to her ear and whispered, "Because he must die Ardelia. By any means necessary. But hey, I am a nice guy. I don't want you dead Ardelia. I want you to come out of this alive, but I had to do what I had to do to bring them here."

He walked back in front of Ardelia to face her, "Before Starling, Lecter had no weaknesses. Want to know how I caught him the first time? By a fucking fluke. He was leaving to go get my jacket to walk me out and I was being nosy in his place and found a recipe book that revealed everything. So when the newspapers tried to drum me up as some hero, a brilliant mind, it was a little hard to digest. Because I knew the truth and so did Lecter. But he never said otherwise. Now that he has Clarice, well not that she has many ties either, but she has more than Lecter. I knew I could get to him through her. It was just that simple."

Ardelia spat at his face and Will wiped it away with his sleeve, "I deserve that I know."

"You disgust me. Get out of my sight." Ardelia barked.

Will smiled and turned to walk out the door. Waiting for him just outside was Lady Murasaki.

"Are you ready for what is to come Will?"

Will stood right in front of her glaring at her, "You better not be getting cold feet after everything I have went through to make sure this happens."

"I am not Will. But you do understand that not everyone is going to make it out alive right? Have you come to terms with all of it?"

"I understand that I will most likely die when the time comes, but you said it yourself. He has to he stopped and we will be the ones to stop him. But tell me something, he is your nephew after all, do you not feel the tiniest ounce of regret anywhere for the decisions you have made?"

A single tear began rolling down her porcelain skin, "My Hannibal, my dear nephew, my sweet boy…died a long time ago in that snow. What has taken his place, is nothing more than a monster."


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The day had finally arrived, at last Will could have his revenge, surrounded by a few members of the FBI, a select few people from Lady Murasaki that she had hand picked, and Ardelia Mapp bound to a chair in the middle of that large open room. The house stood off to itself in the distance away from any prying eyes.

It was surrounded by large palm trees and bushes. The ground was a mixture of sand and dirt. Hannibal and Clarice laid quietly waiting for their opportunity. Clarice was on her stomach, her eye was looking through the scope of the military grade sniper rifle she cradled in her arms.

"Five men, plus Will, and Ardelia tied to a chair…I see her."

Hannibal took a deep breath in and exhaled, "Be ready for anything my dear, more of them may show. I am counting on you to watch my back in this. Understand?"

"I will not falter, I will cover you, I promise. Just know that once you enter the house my field of view will be limited. Be careful H."

Hannibal nodded and snuck around the long way to the side of the building. He was stealthy and cautious in his approach. He snuck up behind an old black van that was in the driveway and waited as one of the men approached, circling the facility. When the man got close, Hannibal reached out and grabbed him, covering the man's mouth with his hand and slicing his throat. He gently guided the body to the ground when another guard came around the corner, now it was Clarice's turn. She aimed carefully and fired, the silencer doing its job by muffling the sound of the gunfire. Then the man hit the ground.

That makes two down.

Hannibal walked around the van staying low to the ground and slashing the tires. Then he came up to the side of the building. Hannibal picked up a rock and threw it against the glass window and waited. Another man approached this time and raised the glass window, gun armed at the ready. Once his weapon peered through the window, Hannibal grabbed a hold of the barrel and pulled down sharply dragging the man along, cutting him with his blade in the process.

Too much noise. Another man came around the side of the house, gun aimed at Lecter, and began shouting orders. Hannibal raised his hands in mock surrender. The man approached slowly and stood behind Hannibal, Clarice was unable to fire her weapon, but she trusted Hannibal to make the right move.

Hannibal held his hands high and placed them on the back of his head and began to kneel , that was the only opening Clarice Starling needed as she fired her gun. The bullet came soaring over Dr. Lecter's head and into the chest of the man holding the gun.

Three down.

Hannibal climbed in the house through the window and Clarice waited, looking through the scope. Her ears picked up the sound of a branch snapping nearby and she turned in time to catch a man coming at her with a sword dressed in a black suit. Clearly not FBI and not American, Starling thought. Then it must be a trap. She needed to go to Hannibal. The man brought the sword down hard and fast with a quick slash. Starling rolled out of the way and pulled out her trusty .45 colt from her hip and fired. Unfortunately there was no silencer on this gun. But that makes four men down now.

Hannibal heard the gunfire and froze in his steps, That sounded like Clarice's gun. I need to get back to her quickly.

He came around the corner of the kitchen and found Will Graham standing next to the chair that Ardelia was bound to. Will held two guns, one aimed at Ardelia and one aimed at Hannibal.

"Dr. Lecter, it's been too long. Glad you made it here safely. Hope the gentlemen outside didn't give you too much trouble. Although it would appear that your wife is in danger now."

"You know Will, I wanted to cut out your heart and have that for dinner, because I used to admire your bravery. But now that I am here looking at you. You are not a brave man. You are just a shell, an empty vessel. No part fit for eating."

"Sorry to have disappointed you Doc. But, if it's all the same to you, I still have one more surprise for you before we begin the last supper of Hannibal Lecter."

Hannibal turned his head a fraction and then heard the front door burst open. His heart sank. Clarice Starling was being brought in with a knife to her throat. At the other end of the knife was Lady Murasaki.

Hannibal stood in shock, "Let her go My Lady she has nothing to do with this."

Lady Murasaki had a sad look on her face, "You should be proud Hannibal, it took four of my men to bring her down. Four. She killed three. She is involved in all of this my dear Hannibal. She will die here with you."

Hannibal held up his knife and tossed it across the floor where it came to rest at Will Graham's feet.

"I am not a foolish man, I know what you both want, you want me to suffer in some unimaginable way before bringing about my demise correct? Then kill me. But let Clarice and Miss Mapp go free. Neither of them have any hand in this and it has all been me. Come now My Lady, I know you didn't come here to kill the innocent in this. So take out the monster instead."

Will scoffed, "Agent Starling will die with you, as she deserves. At this point she is just as guilty as you."

Hannibal stared right at Clarice, "She was drugged."

"What?"

"Drugged, the night after Mason Verger's she was in my care and drugged. She has been under my influence ever since."

Clarice spoke up, "That is not true! Hannibal, what are you doing?"

"Silence Clarice! You know nothing."

Clarice fought back the tears at his outburst and Lady Murasaki chimed in, "Tsk, tsk, tsk….such love, such affection. I would not have thought that to be possible from you Hannibal. She must be so special."

Hannibal tossed ideas in his head over and over, "Then free Ardelia in exchange for my life."

Will smiled and thought on it for a moment, "Alright deal."

He moved to untie her and then pushed her out of the chair, "Go on Miss Mapp, your services are no longer required."

Ardelia ran across the room to Hannibal who gently pushed her behind him.

Will brought his gun back up to face Hannibal, "You were wrong about a couple of things Doc. One, it was Lady Murasaki's idea to cover the grounds. It was also her thought to be directly involved in this because she knew it would make you hesitate. She gave your girl a lot more respect then I ever did. And two, I don't want to see you suffer, I just want you dead. Now let's see if you really do have a heart."

Will fired his gun and the bullet went straight into Hannibal's chest. Clarice screamed and Ardelia stood in shock. Hannibal's body hit the floor with a thud. He reached up to grab Ardelia's arm and she crouched down on the ground beside him keeping pressure on the wound. Tears streaming down her face. Hannibal pulled her in closely whispering in her ear.

Will and Lady Murasaki were preoccupied with a hysterical Clarice. She grabbed the knife and twisted Lady Murasaki's arm slamming her against the door. Will turned his gun towards her.

Hannibal strained to speak to Ardelia, "G.g.g…gun…r..r.rright….pocket."

Mapp unzipped his jacket and found the gun on the right inside pocket, then she understood. She grabbed the gun and fired it at Will. The bullet entered his shoulder and he dropped the gun.

He turned in a fit of rage, "You fucking bitch!"

He ran at her and Ardelia fired again, but Will still kept coming forward.

Hannibal, half conscious on the ground reached out and grabbed Will's ankle pulling him down to the ground as he climbed on top of him biting his neck. Tearing his flesh with his teeth and ripping out a large chunk of his neck in the process. Will screamed.

Clarice ran over to Ardelia and Hannibal. She pulled Hannibal off of Will and held him close. Hannibal huffed, struggling for air. Will's body seized and convulsed until he let out his last breath of air. Lady Murasaki was on the ground and the last man tried to help her up. Clarice reached for Ardelia and grabbed the gun from her hand and fired two more shots killing both Lady Murasaki and her colleague.

Then there were none.

The house was an absolute bloodbath and Clarice was sobbing while holding Hannibal in her arms. Ardelia just sat in shock.

"Please Hannibal don't do this to me please!!! Please! Hannibal, if you can hear me…please….you can't leave me and the baby alone. Please don't do what my father did. Please don't leave us alone!"

Ardelia thought she might pass out and her heart sank. Hannibal was lifeless in her arms. Mapp gathered what little strength she could and grabbed Clarice.

"Claire, baby listen to me. I am going to call the police, but I need you to get out of here."

"No! I am not leaving him."

"I will stay with him Clarice, I will. You have my word. He saved my life, I will be here. But if the FBI sees you here, you will be arrested too. So please baby go!! Go!! Think of your child, think of the baby! You have to go! You will be arrested on sight, but you have my word Clarice that I will not leave his side."

Clarice looked to her friend, "I can't do this Delia."

"Yes you can! Take whatever vehicle you can and run. If you ever want to see him again you will run!"

Clarice looked at Hannibal's face, "I love you Hannibal, I love you." She placed him gently on the floor and turned to Ardelia, "Delia please watch over him."

Clarice got up and ran as fast as she could not looking back for fear of not having the strength to continue running.

Ardelia pressed her hands over the wound with a cloth and tried to keep pressure on the wound, "Doc, I don't know if you can hear me….but…you better not make me a liar to Clarice, you hear me now?"

The police arrived in 23 minutes with the ambulance. Doctor Hannibal Lecter was transported to the nearest hospital for emergency care via helicopter. When he was brought to the ER they called a code, he didn't have a pulse.

Inside Dr. Lecter's vast memory palace he awoke in a snowy blizzard in the middle on the night next to the dreaded house where they took his Mischa.

He stood amongst the snowy wasteland and frowned, he began walking barefoot in the snow toward anywhere but that house. He walked for what seemed like miles on end. His feet were getting so cold, but still he continued. He glanced up and found the house in front of him again and turned to see his footprints in the snow. He apparently had come full circle back to the house. So Hannibal stood and ran in the opposite direction only to end up back at the same house. He fell to his knees in the snow and bowed his head, "So this is it…."

The snow fell all around him and suddenly he heard the footsteps approaching from the distance and a small child appeared dressed nicely in a warm winter jacket. He couldn't have been more than six years old.

Hannibal sat there staring at the child searching his memory palace over and over, but this was not a boy he remembered, but somehow he still felt like he knew the child, "Excuse me little one…are you lost? Do you need help?"

The boy smiled, "Follow me! I know a place where you can get warm."

The child ran off into the distance and Hannibal was quick to follow. He crossed through what seemed like a heavy dense forest, and in the distance, a faint light could be seen. It was coming from a campfire. As Hannibal approached he couldn't find the little boy anywhere, but instead a man was sitting on a log near the fire. He was dressed in a brown button up shirt with darker brown slacks, he had a policeman's hat next to him, and he adorned a gold star on his shirt.

Hannibal had never directly met this man, but he knew all to easily who this man was.

The man gave a friendly smile, "Welcome young man, you look awfully cold, how about you warm up next to the fire?"

Hannibal sat across from him on another log.

"You probably have a lot of questions, I guess I should introduce myself. I am-"

"Clarice Starling's father." Hannibal interrupted.

Hannibal earned another toothy grin from the man, "You got it! I should have guessed. Man as intelligent as yourself wouldn't have any trouble. It's nice to finally meet you. Clarice has told me lots about ya."

"The pleasure is all mine. If I may ask, where did the boy run off to?"

"He's around here somewhere probably running around playing in the snow. Kids have a certain innocence about them don't they? Reminds me of my Clarice when she was little."

Hannibal lowered his head, "Clarice…"

"Don't start sulking like that now, she is a fighter."

"I failed to protect her, I couldn't even-"

"Stop!"

Hannibal looked up.

"If there is one thing I do know about my baby, it's that she doesn't need a man protecting her. She needs someone who can love her and grow with her. She has had a lot of men leave her life. Hell I did, her boss did, and here you are trying to do the same. You care about her don't ya?"

"Of course."

"And you love her?"

"Unequivocally."

"Then get your head out of the past and build a future with her. Stop being so quick to die on her. She needs you."

Hannibal smiled, "Thank you sir."

The little boy came running up and sat next to Clarice's father.

"May I ask you one question?"

Clarice's father smiled, "Of course."

"Who is that boy?"

He smiled big and bright and placed his hand on top of the boy's head, "This little man here? This is my grandson, Hannibal."

Dr. Lecter's eyes shot open and he realized he was chained to a hospital bed alone. He looked at the monitors and the IV poles and sighed. Only a whisper of a name on his lips, "Clarice…."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: First off, I just want to give a huge shutout to everyone that has sent me messages, favorited the story, and the support I continue to receive from you all. It really inspires me to continue writing and I am so thankful you all are enjoying it as much as I am. I know this chapter is shorter, but once again it is a set up for a much longer chapter next. So please enjoy and get ready for some more action. After all, our Clarice has to go save her husband now doesn't she?? Keep reading to find out! And as always, please leave a review. I love to read the reviews!

Chapter 22

Hannibal Lecter sat bound to a metal chair in a large empty room. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all the color of a metallic gray with very little lighting. The room was rather dark. His wrists, head, torso, thighs, legs, and ankles were firmly secured to the chair. He wore the same drab blue colored top and pants that he had worn in the insane asylum all those years ago. One man and one man alone was in the room with him, and that man was none other than Clint Pearsall. He paced back and forth, back and forth, but hadn't spoken a word. What little lighting the room had was on Dr. Lecter. His eyes followed Pearsall.

"Where is she Lecter?"

"You are going to have to be more specific than that Mr. Pearsall."

Clint jerked around and stomped his foot, it echoed loudly in the room, "Don't you dare fuck with me!!! A lot of good agents are dead because of you and your bitch! Now tell me where she is."

After that insult, Hannibal felt like he could break out of the chair and rip out Pearsall's tongue and shove it done his throat, but that was not the way. Best to remain calm.

"Still not being specific enough Clint."

Pearsall nodded in a direction behind Hannibal. A door opened and a large man came in the room carrying a water bucket and a cloth.

"You will talk Lecter, it's only a matter of time."

The man covered Hannibal's face with the cloth from behind and began pouring the water over the cloth. Hannibal's breathing became labored but his composure remained none the less. When the cloth was finally removed he felt a choking sensation and gagged.

"We can do this all day, I doubt your lungs can handle it though. Where is Clarice Starling?"

Hannibal smiled, "Oh, is that who you were talking about? I'm afraid she is dead, I killed her."

Pearsall nodded again and the man approached with the cloth and began pouring the water. Hannibal was choking again. When it was removed a second time the man put his hand a little too close to Lecter's mouth and Hannibal bit down hard tearing a chunk of flesh in the process. The man screamed and pulled back, falling onto the ground. Pearsall punched Hannibal across the jaw.

"Fucking animal! Where is Clarice Starling?"

Hannibal looked him in the eye, "Dead…I killed her."

The man on the ground stood up and brought out a gun, Pearsall grabbed the gun from him, "No you idiot we need him alive! Get out, get your hand checked."

Three more guards came rushing in, "Take Lecter to his cell where he will await for further questioning."

"Yes sir!"

Hannibal was carried away leaving Pearsall standing in the room alone. He shouted, "Bring me Agent Ardelia Mapp!"

Mapp came walking in through the door about 10 minutes later.

"Ardelia Mapp, how long have you been an agent of the FBI now?"

"Almost 11 years now sir."

Pearsall nodded, "That is a good amount of time to be serving your country, young lady. You should be proud."

Ardelia shook her head, "Fuck you Clint! Fuck you for making me watch whatever bullshit you were trying with Lecter, and fuck you for getting me involved. Will told me you were in on the whole thing!"

Pearsall approached her, "And we discovered you helped Starling escape in the first place. So what say you that we call it even? Or should I have you arrested now for assisting the escape of a wanted criminal? Where is Starling?"

Mapp looked at her feet, then back up to Pearsall, "Lecter told you didn't he? She is dead."

"Please! Why would the bait have worked then??? Lecter wouldn't come to save you! We have video footage of Clarice and Hannibal together thanks to Will. We know she is alive!"

"You don't have proof of shit."

"Tell that to the courts, you are on suspension until further notice. Turn in your badge and gun before you leave."

"Gladly. While I am at it, why don't you turn in your records of kidnapping a Federal Agent. I will be sure to tell the courts that as well."

Mapp turned on her heels and walked out of the room and down the hall. Lecter was in a cell at the very end of the hall. He was alone while the men were pulling up a van from the side door. There were ten men ready outside to transport him to a more secure location. She looked inside the cell to see that his hands were bound behind his back, his legs were shackled together, and he wore that same mask from so long ago. It was just the two of them now.

"Good evening Miss Mapp, I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life."

"Not before you saved mine Doc. I do have one question though."

Lecter walked all the way to the glass and looked at Ardelia, "Yes Miss Mapp?"

"Clarice once told me, when we lived together, that you didn't lie…that it was rude to do so and you hate the rude."

A pause.

"Continue please Ardelia."

"You told them Clarice was dead…"

"Because she is."

Ardelia blinked in confusion, "N..no she escaped I saw her."

"That woman is not Clarice Starling. Clarice Starling is dead. The woman you saw on the day of the shootout was someone far more matured and evolved. Clarice Starling did die Miss Mapp, but Clarice Lecter lives on."


	23. Chapter 23

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M….for reasons you will have to read to find out. Enjoy.

Chapter 23

Clarice Lecter was exhausted. She had been on the run constantly and with morning sickness kicking in…well let's just say it made things more difficult. She watched the news, read all the newspapers she could find, and accessed the FBI's public website to try and figure out more details. It all boiled down to one move, she needed to see Ardelia. The last person with Hannibal prior to his incarceration. She had already tried to meet with her, but there were too many agents posted around her house of course. This came as no surprise to Clarice, so she came prepared with a plan of her own. Ardelia had a bar she would frequent on Saturday night. A few reasons Ardelia chose this particular bar: one – the drinks were strong, two – cute bartender she likes to flirt with, and three – drinks were cheap enough with the nice discount she received from said bartender. Clarice let Ardelia go a few times on her own with the FBI tailing her. She knew if she jumped to soon, it would be obvious. Best to let them get complacent. Clarice had gone to the bar early and watched the people dance on the floor while music was blaring overhead. She asked for water and checked her watch. The other good thing about this being the meeting location is that she was able to dress the part. Anyone giving a passing glance would not notice her right away. The make up, wig, and gaudy outfit made sure of that. Clarice checked her watch one last time and noted that Ardelia should be on her way soon, because her favorite bartender's shift started soon. So she walked into the ladies room and waited.

Right on cue, Ardelia came strolling in dressed in a skin tight dress that came to just above her knees. Her high heels were a shade of black as well. She looked good, feminine, yet strong. Her hair was pulled back and she sighed. She walked up to the counter and was greeted with the friendly smile of her bartender.

"Delia! Hey girl, been a minute! What's happening?"

She gave a fake smile, "Too much Dez…too much."

Desmond was an attractive man in his 30s. He worked at various bars and spent much of his time traveling because of it. He was very good at his job and took pride in it. He first met Ardelia a few months back. The two hit it off well. "Dez," as she liked to call him could always make her smile and laugh. That was a valuable and rare trait given Ardelia's kind of job. Clarice used to tease Ardelia constantly about him.

Ardelia sighed….she wished she knew how to get into contact with Clarice, but with the two men following her, that would be dangerous for both herself and Clarice. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed the two FBI agents trying to fit in with the crowd. Key word of course being "trying." A little hard to fit in when you have two men glaring at you. Ardelia thought they could burn a hole through her. She already knew that virtually everyone in the FBI thought she was guilty, and so she was already being treated like a convict.

Her thoughts were all interrupted when she heard Desmond say her name, "Hey! Earth to Dee?"

She turned back around and he was waving his hands around. "Sorry Dez, lost in thought."

He placed his hands palm down on the countertop and shook his head, "Look Dee…..I know this may be abrupt, but what say you and I get out of here and go for dinner?"

"What about your job?"

"My friend Josh is always looking for extra hours. All I have to do is make a phone call and he could be here in 20 minutes."

Ardelia thought about it for a long moment, "Ok, deal. I am gonna step in the bathroom and freshen up."

Dez smiled, "You got it."

Ardelia hopped out of the bar chair and walked to the back where the ladies room was and the two men followed her closely. She finally turned around and snapped, "Damnit guys! I am going to the ladies room, do you mind??? Afterwards, I have a date, so I would appreciate it if you could both sit a little further back and fuck off."

They both frowned but nodded their heads in understanding. Ardelia walked in and looked in the mirror. The stall furthest from the door opened and Ardelia glanced over. Her mouth was wide open and so were her eyes, before Ardelia Mapp, stood Clarice.

Clarice walked over to the bathroom door and locked it and then turned to face her friend. She gave a soft smile, but Ardelia could tell it was fake.

"Hey Dee."

"Hey Claire…"

"You don't look so good Dee, I thought you being here with Dez would cheer you up."

Ardelia gave a smirk, "I actually have a date, but you know….I have been treated like a guilty criminal since that day. So I am on suspension now, and I am being followed everywhere I go."

"I know. I have seen them. I tried to come sooner, but it was just too dangerous."

Clarice glanced down at the floor, then back up to her friend, "How is he?"

"I spoke to him this morning. He is alive."

Ardelia heard Clarice take her next breath and watched as her shoulders relaxed. She had been so tense the entire time and she started to cry.

"The newspapers, TV, websites….they wouldn't give any updates. I wasn't even sure if…if…"

Ardelia hugged her best friend, "I know, I know. This was that bastard Pearsall's idea. He thought that if he could keep it under wraps long enough, that maybe you would come out of hiding and reveal yourself."

When the hug ended, Ardelia looked at Clarice and asked, "I briefly heard you say something the day of the shootout. Clarice….are you…pregnant….with his?"

"Yes."

"You're gonna keep it?"

"Yes."

"Why? Clarice this is your chance, at a new life. You could-"

"Stop! I never had a chance Dee. The FBI has fucked me over more times than I can count. And now? Hell, I bet by now, I am probably a kill on sight target. Hannibal gave me the only chance at a life I will ever have. I will not deny him this life. He is the last in his family Dee. With this, he doesn't have to be."

Ardelia shook her head, "Fucking Pearsall has ruined my damn life too. I don't know what I am supposed to do now. I feel lost."

Clarice looked to her friend, "I can help you with that."

"How?"

"An exchange if you will. I could write a letter to them bragging about how I used you, we could make it work. A life for a life."

"Claire, baby, do you know what you are saying?"

"Yes. In exchange, if you help me free my husband, I promise to make Pearsall go away."

Ardelia shook her head, "I…I…can't."

"Yes you can."

Ardelia placed her hands on Clarice's shoulders and looked her in the eye, "Clarice….I cannot help you free him. Hell I am on suspension. I am of no use to you. This is pointless. Just turn the other way and run."

"No Dee, I will get him out, with or without your help. I was just hoping it would be with since you still have some friends in there to talk to. You may be suspended, but you have people that we can use to help us. Please Dee, I am getting him out with or without you. So what's it gonna be?"

Ardelia felt morally conflicted. In one hand she had her best friend for years. A woman she would gladly lay her life on the line for, on the other, the FBI. An oath she swore to serve and protect. But at what cost? The FBI had it's own corrupt officials in it, always had. Thinking back to the day of the shootout she remembered how Will had told her that Pearsall knew about the plan. They had set her up, used her, as a tool. Ardelia looked up to her friend once more.

"Damn….I guess two heads are better than one. You would probably get into a hell of a lot more trouble without me."

Clarice embraced Ardelia, "We have to keep this quick. The men outside are probably wondering where you are. Here take this."

Clarice reached into her little purse and handed Ardelia a burner phone, "I will call you tomorrow. Don't call me. Enjoy your date tonight girl."

While Clarice and Ardelia plotted their next move, Hannibal was sitting on his cot in his little cell. Since his escape from Memphis, this new room was customized specifically for him. There was an outer bulletproof glass wall similar to the one he had under the care of the late Dr. Chilton. Then there was an inner wall that consisted of iron bars. When it was time for dinner, they would open the glass wall first then place the food on the ground. This allowed the guards time to enter and place the food down. Lastly, they would close the outer glass wall and then a switch would flip to open the iron bars. Hannibal was allowed to eat then he would return his meal to the appropriate marking on the floor, and sit back down on his cot for the officers to get. No one would have to come into any contact and there was always one single wall between the men and Hannibal.

On this particular night, Hannibal's least favorite guard had been assigned to him, Bruce Fleming. A tall man appearing to be in his mid forties. He obviously frequented the gym given his physique. Many of the other guards were usually too afraid of Hannibal to speak to him. But not Bruce. He liked to appear as the dominant male in the facility. He tried and tried to provoke Hannibal but to no avail. Dr. Lecter rarely spoke and rarely cared about any of the men that came around. But on this day Bruce was being a little extra obnoxious. Must have been from all of that alcohol. Hannibal could smell it on his breath even from his cell.

"Wakey, wakey Lecter. Time for your dinner, you piece of shit."

Hannibal stood and faced the wall as he was always supposed to when the gate system began. The first wall opened and Bruce stepped through and then the glass wall closed behind him. He placed the tray on the marking on the floor and glanced up. Lecter had never moved. Bruce smiled. He stood upright and chuckled.

"You know…I was thinking about that girl you ran off with. What was her name? Stirling..or…Starling wasn't it? I saw a picture of her in the news the other day."

The glass door began to open again so Bruce would step through and then the doors would shut, then the iron bars would open up.

Bruce stepped really close to the bars, "I wanted to know….she was a pretty girl. Was she a good fuck? Shame you had to waste a nice piece of ass like that. I would like a go with her myself."

Bruce briefly saw Hannibal's hand twitch, "Oohhhh did I strike nerve Lecter?"

Bruce turned to start to walk outside the glass wall. He never heard Hannibal Lecter approach. Lecter reached far through the iron bars and managed to grab Bruce by the collar of his shirt and yank him backwards against the bars. Hannibal placed him in a chokehold and Bruce was gasping for air and trying to scream for help. Two guards were sitting down the hall. One was looking at a magazine and the other was on the phone talking. It took them a whole two minutes to even notice what was going on.

Bruce tried to reach for his gun but then Hannibal just squeezed tighter and tighter. The second bar gate system began to open now that the glass wall was completely shut. Hannibal grabbed Bruce by the hair and pulled his head through the iron bars. The automatic door began moving to the left with his head stuck in between them. Hannibal watched as the automatic gating system carried Bruce off into the wall. His head was crushed in between the bars and the wall. His body fell limp to the floor. Hannibal proceeded to grab the tray and walk back to the cot. The guards were only alerted of an issue when the red lights started blaring saying that there was an error with the gating mechanism. They jumped out of their chairs and ran towards the cell. What they saw was enough to make the younger man puke and the older one to pull out his gun and radio to call for help.

Hannibal Lecter sat on his cot, with blood splatters on his face, eating peacefully from his tray. As if there was no headless body on the ground. The iron bar gate was still opened but the glass wall had already closed up.

"What the fuck happened Lecter?!"

Hannibal gave a friendly smile, "Ah, Mr. Fleming learned the hard way that I don't share what is mine."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Pearsall got dressed for work that morning and kissed his wife goodbye as he headed out the door. The sun was just starting to rise in the sky. The dew was still fresh on the grass, and he began his descent down the porch steps over to his car. He glanced up while taking a sip of his coffee and froze in his steps. The coffee slipped from his grasp and spilled all over the ground. Pearsall shouted to his wife and she came rushing out to see what was wrong. There, on the side of Pearsall's white SUV were the words written in some sort of red liquid, "Free Hannibal!"

Pearsall got closer and noticed that it had been written in blood. Pearsall pulled out his phone and called the office. Within moments they were at his location. Samples of the blood had been taken to lab, and the car was searched for fingerprints of any kind.

A man approached Pearsall, "Think this is Clarice's doing?"

Pearsall looked dumbfounded, "Of course! Who else would be psychotic enough to do this?!?"

"I just don't get it though. Why would she want all this attention? Lecter keeps telling us all she is dead, so why would she want us to know she is here?"

Pearsall shook his head, "No it doesn't make since, but this has to be her doing. Who else would do all of this? Bring Ardelia to my office. I want her there in 30 minutes."

"Yes sir."

Ardelia Mapp slept soundly in her bed until she was woken up by a pounding sound at her door. She threw on a big, plush robe and ran over looking through the peep hole.

"Who is it?"

"Special Agent Ford."

"What do you want?"

"Pearsall requested to see you in his office. I am here to pick you up."

Ardelia opened the door and glared at the Agent, "May I ask what for?"

"His car had been vandalized this morning with the words 'Free Hannibal' written in blood on his car. He asked me to bring you in to discuss the situation."

Ardelia's eyes widened a fraction in disbelief, "Holy shit….alright…give me just a few minutes to get ready." She slammed the door in his face and ran upstairs to retrieve the burner phone that Clarice had given her.

"Come on! Pick up, pick up…."

Three rings and then Clarice answered, "Hello."

Ardelia almost shouted, "Why would you do something so stupid girl, why? I thought the plan was to lay low?"

"What are you talking about Dee?"

"Pearsall's car! The message written on it in blood. What the fuck is that about?"

Silence on the other end of the line.

Ardelia suddenly became very confused at her silence.

"What did the message say Ardelia?"

"Are you telling me it wasn't you?"

"What did the message say?!"

"'Free Hannibal.'"

Clarice sighed.

Ardelia spoke out again, "Now I am being brought in for questioning. Did you or did you not do this Claire?"

"No….I didn't. I need to get Hannibal out of there. It would appear someone else wants him as well. Just when I thought the situation couldn't get any worse….Dee listen to me. Go to the meeting and talk to Pearsall. We need to know everything. I need to know who it is we are dealing with."

"Oh fuck….yes, I got it."

"Call me later tonight if at all possible. Around 10:30."

The phone went dead. Ardelia sat on her bed running her hands through her hair, "What the fuck have we gotten into?"

She heard the door banging again. She jumped up and ran to the closet slipping on a pair of jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. She ran downstairs and opened the door, "Alright I am ready."

"About time…alright let's go."

The drive over felt like it was taking forever. Her heart pounded but her outward exterior remained very calm and composed.

Once they arrived she was escorted to Pearsall's office. He sat in his chair behind the desk conversing with about three agents. He dismissed all of them out of the room other than Ardelia.

"Sit down Agent Mapp."

"I'd rather not."

"Do you know why you are here today?"

"I know there was a message left on your car this morning. But no I am not for certain why I am here."

Pearsall tapped his desk with his fingers as if pondering his next move, "Do you think Clarice Starling did this?"

Ardelia shrugged, "How the hell should I know that?"

Pearsall slapped his hand against the desk, "I know you don't know! I am asking you what you THINK."

"I don't know why she would sir. That would draw unnecessary attention to herself."

"Who else would want that monster free?"

"I don't know. Look sir…I don't see what this has to do with me. So if you don't mind I would like to leave. I am, after all, on suspension right?"

"The men have been following you for a month now. I am lifting the suspension tomorrow. Too many of the higher ups are asking me questions of your involvement with Will Graham, Clarice Starling, and Hannibal Lecter the night of the shoot out. Unfortunately, the Director asked me to lift your suspension on grounds that I don't have enough evidence. So I brought you in today to warn you."

"Warn me about what?"

"If I even catch you with Clarice Starling, even in passing, you will be a kill on site target. Do you understand?"

"I understand sir."

Pearsall seemed pleased with himself, "Good, now having said that Special Agent Mapp, I wanted you to know that the blood we ran checked with a girl who went missing a week ago in the DC area. Forty-three years old , black hair, brown eyes, works as a lawyer, not married, and no children…I want you on this case."

Ardelia gave him a confused look, "I thought you didn't trust me, and now you want me assisting with this case?"

"Yes. The closer you are to me the closer watch I can keep over you. Now get to work. Report your findings by the end of the day. You can leave the report on my desk."

Ardelia nodded and left the room. She made her way back to her office and shook her head. It had been a long time since she had felt this alone. But she knew she had to suck it up.

After six hours of hard work, phone calls, headaches, and pacing around she had found something that interested her more than anything else. Something that stood out too much to be called a mere coincidence. She gathered the file and left the office in a run. She made it to her car and glanced at the time 9:10pm. Almost perfect.

She rushed over as quickly as she could to the facility that housed Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The drive took approximately an hour to complete. Once she began the check in process the nursing staff came out to greet her.

"We are very sorry Special Agent Mapp. Dr. Lecter is not currently allowed visitors. If you wouldn't mind…."

Ardelia's mind zoned out….she could see lips moving but no words were audible. She began this day, threatened by her boss, thrown onto a case she did not want, and now was being denied access to see the one man who could help her with this case. She slammed her hand against the counter top.

"That is fucking enough! I am tired, exhausted, working a case, and I am damned pissed off. If you would like, I will gladly call my boss and tell him how you are getting on the way of a federal investigation. So go on! Tell me how I can't see him, I fucking dare you!"

It was a bold move to burst in that outrage. Mapp knew that if Pearsall found out she was there, he would be pissed. But it was a bluff she had to risk. And luckily for her they finally bought it.

The nurse glared at her, "Very well ma'am, but I should let you know that no one is to approach or touch him. If you have to pass him anything, use it through the carrier tray."

"What happened to the two way gate system?"

"He killed one of the guards using the gate. He has been placed in an isolation room. There is a metal carrier that can be used to give him the case file. Paper only. No plastic, no clips, no nothing. Video and audio monitoring at all times."

Ardelia's eyes widened, "I understand."

They allowed her in and she walked the distance to the last cell in the room. The nurses left her alone. Hannibal turned to look at her and smiled. He sat on his cot that was placed on the floor. He stood up, brushed his pants, and gave a slight bow.

"Good evening Miss Mapp. To what do I owe this pleasure."

"We need your help."

Dr. Lecter smiled and shook his head, "So the FBI believes I will help out with another case? Why would I do that?"

"Because this one involves you."

Hannibal's smile vanished and a frown took its place instead. "Pardon?"

She placed the file in the tray and looked at her watch, 10:20. Almost time.

Hannibal opened the file and saw the first images of the young woman. Throat cut open and body hung as a display. Hannibal spoke, "Cindy Porter. An unfortunate sight, she was a very successful girl."

He kept flipping pages and saw the blood message written on the side of Pearsall's van, "Free Hannibal!"

He glanced up at Ardelia, "This message was written in her blood?"

"Yes. I did some digging and found out she was a patient of yours. Too big of a coincidence wouldn't you say Doctor?"

Hannibal kept flipping through the large file.

"They think it is Clarice."

Hannibal visibly froze as though he were a statue, "No. You don't believe that now do you?"

Ardelia's eyes met his, "No….no I don't." She glanced at her watch again 10:28. "Doctor Lecter, can you please turn to page 132 in the file?"

He gave her a sideways glance and flipped the page over. Ardelia, for the first time, got to see Hannibal Lecter in shock and she had to admit it did give her a since of joy. On that page was a cell phone taped down with Ardelia's handwriting. "Video and audio recording in progress, keep phone in file. Clarice will video call at 10:30 as I have requested her to do so."

As if on cue, the phone lit up but no sound came out. He accepted the call and Clarice's image appeared on the screen. She waved her hand and smiled. Dr. Lecter smiled as well and his eyes softened. Ardelia could see them from where she was.

Clarice held up a white board in the video, "I have missed you. There is a new enemy on the loose. Delia has been assigned to case. We need to move fast. We need your help."

Hannibal nodded in agreement and then it would appear as though something startled him. But Ardelia wasn't sure what it was. Clarice held up a picture of the first sonogram of their child and smiled. She then flipped the image over and it gave the expected due date. Hannibal could feel the tears coming but chose to hold them back for now. He placed his hand over the phone and stroked the image. She waved goodbye one last time and the phone call ended. Hannibal glanced up to Ardelia who smiled.

"Do we have an understanding Doctor?"

"Indeed we do Miss Mapp."


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you to all the new followers and likes and those that have stuck with me from the beginning! You all encourage me to keep writing. Have no fear, this story is far from done. I know this chapter is a little shorter, but we are once again setting the stage for a few shockers and plot twists coming up. So stay tuned! Please review and tell me what you all think thus far. 25 chapters in now and going strong. Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 25

Dr. Lecter flipped through what little of a file Agent Mapp had available for him to read. A few conclusions he made: 1. The Killer was copying one of Doctor Lecter's early crimes, 2. The target was an old patient of his, and 3. The killer was bold enough to go straight to Pearsall and leave a message to the FBI. This concluded the killer was probably bold enough to actually come after him. What was the motive though? Was Hannibal some sort of unspoken hero to this new player in the game, or a martyr perhaps? Time was running short, and Clarice was formulating her own plan to rescue him. This was going to be a big risk to everyone involved. Hannibal determined his best bet was to aid Ardelia in this person's capture, otherwise Clarice may be in danger.

He flipped through each of the pages methodically, but there just was not enough substantial information to provide him with any form of a clue. A frustrating feeling.

He stood up and placed the case file back in the tray and slid it back to Ardelia.

"Sorry Doctor, I only had maybe about six hours with the case so far. I know the information is scarce."

"No worries, I am sure you will be able to find more information. Does Pearsall have cameras around his house that would catch any video?"

Ardelia shook her head, "No such luck."

Dr. Lecter placed his hands behind his back, "This one is bold Miss Mapp. He could pose a threat if not handled quickly. Unfortunately for us," Hannibal tapped the plexiglass, "I am behind here and unable to assist. So I will depend upon you to gather the necessary evidence to solve this case."

Ardelia nodded, "I know Doctor. I am on it now."

She turned and left in a hurry. He listened to her footsteps echo down the hall. He wished to hear the sound of Clarice's steps approaching him, but alas the sound never came. He was alone. The image of the sonogram flashed in his mind, Clarice holding the image and smiling at him, it gave him a sense of Pride. He settled back into the cot and pondered upon this new person who has entered the game.

* * *

Meanwhile…only a few miles away, a man sat in his hotel room patiently waiting. The man wore a grey sweater with black slacks. His hair was black and silver and he had crow's feet tugging at the corner of his eyes. He had a five o'clock shadow that gave him a rather worn look. He looked to be in his mid to late 50s. He sat at the desk with the little lamp light turned on. He had an exacto knife in one hand cutting out images from the National Tattler. On the desk he had an old photo album, and it was a deep black color with gold trimming along the edges. The man took his time methodically cutting out the images he needed. Once finished, he opened the photo album and glued the images to the page. He looked satisfied with his work then flipped back to the beginning of the book. The start of the album was images of Dr. Lecter going through medical school, the articles had mentioned his brilliance and how he was at the top of his class. Flipping a few pages ahead, the next article had mentioned how he had assisted the FBI with multiple cases and how his expertise and insight gave the FBI the advantage it needed in solving future cases. The next article was his falling from grace. It detailed how he had been identified as the Chesapeake Ripper and how Will Graham caught him. The next page, was how the FBI had asked for Lecter's assistance on the Red Dragon Case. The next was page was showing Clarice Starling's image next to Hannibal Lecter's and discussed the Buffalo Bill case. The next one was his favorite, it was the article talking about the night Lecter escaped. The pictures listed with this article was an image of the prison he escaped, and then, beside it, the last image of Dr. Lecter before he escaped. The man stroked the image of Lecter. He flipped the page again now showing how Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter had gone missing. He frowned, "We can't let this woman stain your legacy. You belong to no one. You are a God."

He flipped to the last page he had made showing how Dr. Lecter had been captured, but Clarice Starling was still missing. It had stated that the exact location where Hannibal was being held had not been made public knowledge, "They can't hide you from me for long."

He closed the book and tapped the cover with his fingertips, "I will write the next chapter of your life."

He walked over to the bed where he had a military grade sniper rifle with a large scope. He tested the equipment and once he was satisfied that everything was in order, he placed the gun back in his duffle bag.

"With all the commotion I caused amongst the FBI by vandalizing Pearsall's car, they will be eager to move you again and soon. That is when I will strike, and you will be free. Once you are free…I will consume you, just as you have consumed so many others. Once I have consumed you, then you will be the one to set me free."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

People watching from the outside might say everything looked normal. A man was doing a light jog around the park. He wore a bright red cap with black long sleeved shirt and black pants. What parts of his hair was showing had black with bits of silver in it. He smiled and waved at people that passed him by. Perfectly normal so far.

The park was always lovely this time of year, fall was starting to set in and the leaves were dancing their way from the trees to the ground. It was perfect weather out, still warm from the edges of summer but that fall breeze kept it cool. The man's jog took him down a winding narrow path and ended at a park bench just before the woods started. He sat down admiring the views around him and waited.

About an hour later another man came jogging up the trail from the opposite direction. He was balding at the top and what little hair he had left was like a sandy brown color. He wore a white long sleeved shirt and navy blue pants. He took a seat next to the man wearing the red cap.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"About 56 minutes. So how is he Douglas?"

"He is doing well. The transfer is in three days." They are moving him to a secure facility. Douglas held up a thermos bottle that he carried with him on his jog.

The man in the red cap took the bottle and unscrewed the lid. Inside were papers that had been placed in a plastic bag. He flipped through the pages, "Well done Mr. Douglas. You have been of the upmost help this past few weeks. Do they suspect anything about Pearsall's car?

"They think that the Starling girl is behind it all. The car and the letters that have been delivered to the asylum. So they decided to transfer him to a larger more secure facility."

"Excellent. I transferred the $250,000 dollars to your account this morning. The remaining $250,000 will be transferred when the pick up is made."

"Very good Mister….??"

"Leerson."

"Ah very good Mr. Leerson. If I may ask a question…I mean…$500,000 dollars for one criminal, is a lot. He is going to be executed anyway. So what did Hannibal do that pissed you off so badly that you want to off him yourself?"

"I am not going to kill him. He saved my life and now it is my turn to set him free."

"Wait, you plan on just releasing him? Then why not work with Starling and…"

Leerson held up his hand to interrupt, "I think it best you don't get anymore involved in these matters Mr. Douglas. And do not bring up that fool Clarice again. She has ruined him enough as it is. The only thing she is good for is taking all the blame for my work."

"Sir, if I may….I heard Ardelia Mapp is on the case to hunt you down. I have seen her in the dungeon with Lecter. I think he will be assisting her."

Leerson smiled, "That is perfectly fine. Even with Lecter's genius there is no evidence that would lead him to me."

"What makes you so confident?"

Leerson glanced over to Douglas, "Because, Mr. Douglas, Dr. Lecter believes that I have been dead now for about 50 years. Now run along to work, we don't want any suspicions to be made about our plans. If what you say is true, and the transfer is to be made in three days, then that is when we shall move to abduct Hannibal."

Douglas checked his watch, "Right. I have to be at work in 2 hours. I will head on then, but how should I reach you when the time comes?"

Leerson pulled out of his pocket a burner phone, "My number is the only one listed in this phone. You do not call me. I will call you."

Douglas worked as a supervisor at the facility that Hannibal was currently being kept in, as such he had access to all the intel Leerson needed. He was the perfect tool. Middle aged man, recently divorced, wife took everything, and no children to speak of. He works his job and then he goes home.

Leerson vandalized Pearsall's car to keep all suspicion on Clarice. The only ones who would be wiser to that matter would he Hannibal, Clarice, and perhaps Ardelia. Beyond that everything was falling into place, and it would only be 3 more days before he would have his prize.

* * *

About 3 hours later…

Hannibal sat in his cot waiting for the news today. Mapp was supposed to come today for a visit. He had hoped she could find more substantial evidence. Not that he could blame her for not, she had been under tremendous pressure from her superiors. Everything she did, had to be done discreetly. Hannibal heard footsteps approaching and stood upright, alert. These were not the steps of Agent Mapp, and it sounded like there were about four sets of footsteps approaching. The men in question finally came into view: Pearsall, Douglas, and the two assigned security guards to Hannibal.

"Good morning gentlemen."

Pearsall started, "Lecter, you are being transferred to a new facility in 3 days. This new facility will be your final destination until your execution. Mr. Douglas has arranged the transfer cars for us already. We will have FBI agents armed and ready, a van that will be carrying you to the new facility, and a few trucks to be following the van while you are in transit."

"Understood." Hannibal nodded.

"Very good." Pearsall pulled a page out of a file and showed it to Lecter, "This is the official date of your execution. Lethal injection, lights out, and that's it."

Douglas added, "Hannibal Lecter, we hope to have your cooperation in making this transfer go as smoothly as possible. Myself and the team of security guards will be here to assist."

The men continued talking for another 5 to 10 minutes. Lecter had long since drowned out the sounds. When the men were finished they left Hannibal alone. When he was sure the sounds of the footsteps had vanished completely, he called out.

"Miss Mapp, we will need to move quickly. You can come out now."

Ardelia came around the corner looking very shocked, "How did you know I was hiding around the corner?"

"Your perfume. You wear it often. I could smell in lingering in the air. I take it you hiding from Pearsall means he is still unaware of your visitations?"

"For now."

"I see."

Ardelia fumbled with the file and passed it to him, "I am sorry Doctor….I feel like at every turn I fail. This guy is a total ghost. I have no clue about anything. No prints, no cameras, no nothing…I don't know what to do."

Hannibal flipped through the files and found out very little info had been added. So instead he put the file back into the carrier and sent it back to Mapp.

"Don't fret Miss Mapp. I may have found a different angle of approach."

Ardelia lifted her head, "What?"

"This person, isn't doing this for anything more than attention and to force the FBI to make a move. Why Pearsall? Why his car? Because he knows Pearsall is in charge of the case. He obviously doesn't have the manpower to break me out of here himself. I believe he is trying to pressure the FBI into moving me. I heard from the guards this morning that this facility has received death threats if I am not freed."

"What?! Pearsall didn't tell me anything! He put me in charge of this stupid case why wouldn't he…." Her thoughts trailed off.

Hannibal frowned, "Because Miss Mapp, they don't want you to find anybody. They don't want you to find anybody because he is absolutely convinced Clarice is behind this. He doesn't want you too involved. Because of the car and the death threats, I am to be moved to a separate facility."

Mapp shook her head, "Then what the hell is the plan now?"

"I believe that someone in this facility is assisting this new character that has come into play. It seems too easy that he has been able to execute all this. I believe someone here is giving him feedback. The news media keeps circulating that I am moving in and out of facilities, yet the last threat that came to this place was two days ago."

Ardelia looked Lecter in the eye, "So there has to be someone on the inside assisting with all this and telling this person where you are. Do you think its one of the FBI members?"

"The FBI just wants me dead, and Pearsall is quick to get this over with. I believe that it is someone in this facility here. If you can get your hands on those letters, maybe we can figure this out. The mystery man may be a ghost, but if he is using someone, that is how we shall catch him."

"I only have three days to make this happen Doctor, but I will do my best. I'm gonna get going now."

Hannibal listened to the footfalls down the hall and let out a sigh. Something burned in his mind. The date Pearsall showed him, the date of his execution. For on that same day, his child was to he expected. Seemed ironic to him, one Lecter leaving this world in exchange for another.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: Hello dear readers! Thank you for your continued support. I want to hear some feedback so please leave some comments and reviews because they always help me with the story. Especially because next chapter is going to be a wild ride. This chapter I made extra long. Next chapter will be the transfer of Hannibal. Read on to find out what happens!!!! And thank you again for reading!!

* * *

Chapter 27

Ardelia knew she didn't have much of a chance in squeezing any information out of Pearsall, so instead she decided to sneak around in evidence to find the letters Dr. Lecter had mentioned. It didn't take Ardelia long to find them. In total there were three letters. She pulled out her phone and took several pictures then looked at the file that came with them. They were dusted for fingerprints and the mailing address was checked and that yielded nothing. After she was done taking the pictures, she left and phoned Clarice in her car.

"Claire, it's Dee. I need to meet you today, and it has to be today. Where can we meet?"

"Have you found anything?"

"Yes, but I need your help."

"Alright then. Park at 5th Avenue in the parking garage 4th level. I will pick you up myself from there."

"Got it."

Ardelia did as instructed and made it to the 5th Avenue parking garage in twenty-three minutes. Clarice made it there in thirty-three minutes. She pulled up behind Ardelia's car and flashed her lights as a signal. Ardelia got into the car.

"Still taking extra precautions I see Claire."

"Can't be too careful. The FBI have been on high alert."

Ardelia glanced at her friend and, for the first time, really noticed her belly protruding outward. She still was in excellent shape, but the baby was definitely noticeable now.

"Have you been feeling alright?"

"Well…I don't have my head stuck in a toilet all day long like before. On the down side I feel anxious all the time so sleep doesn't come easy to me."

"He was so happy to see you on the video, even if it was only for a moment."

"I was happy too. The happiest I have been in a long time. Now, what do you have?"

Ardelia pulled out her phone, "I am not supposed to know these exist, so I couldn't remove them from evidence. Instead I took as many pictures as possible. They were dusted for prints and the return address was checked. Both were dead ends."

Clarice glanced downward at the phone. The letters were all typed and addressed to Hannibal himself. "Has he seen these letters or read them?"

"No, the FBI is keeping it completely quiet. Lecter said the only reason he knew was because he overheard the guards mumbling about it on duty."

Clarice pulled into the parking lot of a large hotel. She parked and took the phone from Ardelia and proceeded to read the letters aloud.

"My Dearest Hannibal. These filthy animals think they can keep you caged, but I know better. I have seen what you are capable of, and I know what you can do. You are a God amongst these men. If they do not free you, then I suppose I shall have to come take you by force. Many men will die I am sure of that. I do not expect this letter to reach you, but I do expect it to land in the hands of the faculty at the prison you are being housed in. So to whomever is reading this let it be known that you have all dug your own graves. Release Hannibal, or you all will die."

Ardelia shook her head, "And that is just the first letter. Doctor Lecter said he doesn't know who is behind this, but that if we can find the person helping him that maybe we have a chance."

Clarice seemed deep in thought, "You said they dusted for prints and found nothing right?"

Ardelia nodded, "Yes, the only prints on there were from some members of the facility."

"Did it state in the files who turned in these notes?"

"There was a Douglas Fitcher listed in the files. He is the supervisor at the facility."

"Have you checked him out yet?"

"No, as soon as I found the notes I called you right away."

"Did he turn all three of the notes in?"

"Yes."

"Seems a bit too convenient doesn't it? Three separate notes dated weeks apart and he just so happened to be there to receive them and to turn them in. He should be our main suspect now. Come on up to my room. We have some more digging to do."

Ardelia followed Clarice into the hotel room. The hotel itself was very nice. It had several large rooms in it used for various events and dinners. There were three restaurants in it and a full bar. Clarice's room was on the 5th floor. Once they made it in her room, Ardelia marveled at the set up. Clarice had three different laptops, a large camera, and a whole mess of food bags next to the desk.

"Damn girl, looks like you have been working like crazy, I mean look at all this. How long have you been in this place for?"

"About two weeks. I move around pretty frequently. I always chose hotels with food stops in them. That way I can limit how often I go outside."

"Right. What have you been working on?"

"My family's life after all this is over. I have been arranging new identifications, changing over some of the bank accounts, and arranging for our child to be born into this world."

Ardelia smiled, "Gives you some hope for the future doesn't it?"

"Yes. Now let's get on with this Douglas Fitcher." Clarice powered on the computers and waited for the screens to load. Ardelia logged on to the FBI's website so that Clarice could check up on Hannibal and the facility he was being housed in. They pulled the records on Douglas and did a background search and found all the basic info they needed. Douglas Fitcher 52 years of age, recently divorced, no children, lives in a small two bedroom house, and the records found that his wife took everything from him in the divorce.

Ardelia asked, "Damn, what the hell did he do that he got the rug pulled out from under him like that?"

"Why don't we go find out? She doesn't live far from here. I think that is about an hour drive."

* * *

While Clarice and Ardelia investigated Douglas was leaving work. He had one last meeting with Mr. Leerson before the big transfer happened. Douglas was all too eager, especially when thinking of that extra $500,000 that will be sitting in his bank account in just a few short days. He met Leerson at the same park they always had, only this time, he was to meet him a little further down the jogging trail. Douglas made is way down the path and found Mr. Leerson down in the wooded area.

"Ah Mr. Leerson, I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long."

"Not at all, let's get on with it shall we?"

"Yes, you told me there was one last message to deliver. Where is it?"

Mr. Leerson smiled, "Come here Douglas."

Leerson turned around and began walking off the trail and Douglas followed. "So Mr. Leerson, if I may ask, why did you feel the need to add one last message. I mean, you got what you wanted right? The transfer will be happening in three days time"

"Yes Douglas it is all going according to plan. But I can't wait the three days, we need to move now."

"But how do you expect to-"

Douglas was cut short when the knife entered the back of his head. He was dead instantly and Leerson turned around and smiled, "Congratulations Mr. Gibbs, you will now be getting his share when this is over. How does a million dollars sound for the job?"

Gibbs stood over Douglas Fitcher's lifeless body and smiled, "So all I need to do is pull a trigger and disappear right?"

"Yes, my last message to the facility will be Douglas. I imagine, after this, they will be eager to move him. Now, do you think you can help me with the body?"

* * *

Ardelia arrived at the residence of Laura Baker formally known as Laura Fitcher. Clarice waited in the car with head phones on so she could listen to the conversation. Ardelia wore a wire under her blouse. She knocked twice and Laura answered the door promptly.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Miss Laura Baker?"

"Yes and you are?"

"Ardelia Mapp, FBI." Ardelia flashed her badge.

"Have I done something wrong?"

"No ma'am, I just have some questions for you about your ex-husband Douglas Fitcher."

Laura frowned, "Whatever he has done, I have no part in it."

"He hasn't done anything either. You see, the facility he works at has been receiving death threats, and Mr. Fitcher is a person of interest in all this. I just wanted to ask you some questions. I am afraid that is all I can say on the matter."

"Well come in then."

Ardelia followed her into her home and in a word it was, gaudy. Too many statuettes, different sorts of furniture placed all over the house made it difficult to navigate in some places. She had crystals and glasses in a china cabinet and pictures upon pictures hung up on the walls.

"Admiring the place Agent Mapp?" Laura asked with a smile.

"Oh, uh, yes….quite a lovely home you have here."

"Finally a woman who appreciates taste! Douglas was always complaining."

They sat down in the kitchen and Ardelia started, "So, in your words, can you describe Mr. Fitcher to me?"

Laura sighed, "Douglas was always a very book smart man, no too common sense smart, but you know. His family was well off and so he was always a bit on the lazy side because he was never hurting for money. He went to school just to please his parents and graduated, but never got a job. After his parents died he got all their money and so he saw no reason to work again. Well until I nagged him into finding something to get out of the damn house every now and again. I worked as a nurse while he sat at home and got fatter and fatter. So he finally got a job and still to this day he works there a that institution."

Ardelia wrote down some notes and looked up to Laura, "I see, and the reasoning for the divorce?"

Laura glanced off, "Shouldn't this all be in the court papers? I don't see a reason to-"

"The reason stated in those papers was irreconcilable differences. But, I also noticed that he gave you pretty much everything he had in the divorce. Which tells me maybe there is a bit more to the story than that."

Laura tapped her fingers on the kitchen table over and over again.

"Laura? Please, if it would help in the investigation I need to know. People's lives are at stake."

"I….well I mean he….had been seeing this underage girl on the side. Paying her to….do things with him. And when I got home from work early one night I found them. I was so disgusted I just left and we didn't talk for a week. The next time I saw him, it was with divorce papers in my hand. He knew I was going to go after him and the girl so he made me promise something. He told me that if it ever went on paper that he had been seeing an underage girl and he was marked as a pedophile, he would go to jail. So I told him that if he agreed to leave me his family fortune, that I would not mention the girl and we could go our own separate ways."

Ardelia looked baffled, "So you black mailed him into giving you his money in exchange for hiding his little secret?"

"Oh please, the only thing good about the man was his money, and believe me, as soon as I took it all, his little girlfriend left too."

Clarice listened over the headset shocked by the whole conversation. She glanced over when she heard Ardelia's phone ringing, it was Pearsall. He called three times in a row and then the phone started buzzing. Clarice noticed it was numerous text messages from Ardelia's friend at the FBI. Clarice saw Hannibal's name mentioned so she grabbed the phone and started reading the text messages.

"Dee, Pearsall wants you at his office ASAP. They just found a body over at Liberty Park. They are transferring Hannibal Lecter tomorrow. Get your ass over here now before Pearsall loses his shit."

Clarice's eyes widened, "Fuck."

She pulled out her phone and called the burner phone that Ardelia was carrying.

Ardelia was listening to Laura carry on about he whole scandal and noticed the burner phone ringing. She excused herself and answered, "What's up?"

"Forget this, they are moving Hannibal tomorrow, we have to move now!"

Ardelia hung up, "Sorry Miss Laura, there has been an emergency I have to go."

"Wait what about-"

Ardelia stormed out of the house. While Clarice drove, Ardelia phoned Pearsall back and put him on speaker so Clarice could hear.

Pearsall's voice boomed over the phone, "Ardelia! Where the FUCK have you been?"

"Working the case you gave me, I am on my way now what happened?"

"They found the body of Douglas Fithcer at Liberty Park. He worked at the facility that is housing Lecter. The killer left a note on his body threatening to kill everyone in the place if Lecter isn't set free. We are moving him tomorrow morning. We can't risk this."

Clarice and Ardelia stared at each other, "Alright, I am on my way now."

She hung up the phone, "Holy shit Clarice. This guy just completely cut all time we had of an investigation."

"There isn't anymore time. The only option I have is to be there at the transfer tomorrow and to save Hannibal before this man gets to him first."

"Clarice that is fucking nuts! No way! You are pregnant. How in the hell do you expect to-"

Clarice yelled over Ardelia, "I KNOW! But this is the only way now. There is no more time."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Ardelia was in shock and Clarice was focused and more determined than ever. She knew what had to be done, even if Ardelia did not approve of her decision.

"Claire can we please talk first?"

"About what?"

"Well…I am starting to have thoughts that maybe you are acting a little on the emotional and irrational side. Maybe the pregnancy is finally getting to your head?"

"I am fine Dee. You know as well as I do that this is what that bastard wants. He wants Hannibal to be transported. It is when he will be most vulnerable we have to move and beat him to it."

"Ok. For starters you are not fine, you are doing 90 in a 55 and you really can't afford to get pulled over right now while driving because your face is plastered all over the news. Secondly, what do you think is gonna happen? You are just going to roll in there 7 months pregnant, pick up your hubby, and then the two of you are just going to ride off in the sunset together?"

Clarice sighed, "Look Dee. I know this sounds crazy. I know. But listen to me. This is my ONLY chance at rescuing him. My plan is to let this guy get as far as he can, without actually taking Hannibal. I will let him do all the ground work. Obviously he has a well laid out plan. So I am going to let him carry it out while watching from afar. The second I see an opportunity I am going to bust him out of there. If this man gets a hold of Hannibal, Dee…this child may never get to see his father. Do you understand?"

Ardelia started rubbing her head, "Alright. I am not thrilled about it, but…I guess it's a plan, it's a horrible plan, but still a plan."

Clarice drove back to her hotel room and packed up her things and Ardelia helped. The computers fit into her large black suitcase. Her clothes were folded on the bed and placed into a backpack. She showered for fifteen minutes then came down to the lobby and loaded up the car.

"You better get going to Pearsall, Dee. I would say he is pissed already it has taken you this long."

"Yeah….I know…"

Clarice drove her back to her car and hugged her friend tightly. Ardelia headed back to her car and drove off. She wanted very badly to ask Clarice where she was going next, but she knew she wouldn't tell her. Clarice was a ghost. She moved around from place to place and had plenty of IDs to stay hidden for the next month if she so chose. However, tomorrow was going to be a different story. So instead on this day, Clarice drove her car around gathering various items for her operation. She managed to gather, with the help of some old friends, a new gun, a large bulletproof vest to help cover her belly as much as possible, and a new identification for Hannibal when he was free. She also picked him up a new change of clothes, sunglasses, and a hat. He wouldn't have time to fully change his appearance so anything to cover his face would be optimal.

Clarice could easily tell anyone that she hadn't heard the lambs scream in a very long time. Hannibal's therapy sessions had brought a lot of silence to them and she was thankful. However, tonight was a different story. The screams were very loud and every time she shut her eyes she saw Hannibal, elegant as ever, covered in blood. His blood. His dead eyes met hers, but they were empty. His mouth slightly open as blood trickled out the corner of his mouth. He was dressed in all black, one lifeless hand outstretched towards her. She decided it best to stay awake and keep herself occupied.

Meanwhile, in the next town over, a man who called himself Mr. Leerson was preparing his arsenal for tomorrow. He had the upmost confidence that everything would go smoothly. He had the upmost confidence in his partner Dmitri Gibbs. Gibbs had a unique background. He had been in the marines for many years before being discharged due to an injury. He never wanted to quit. He fought to stay involved in the marines, but was sadly turned down. Apparently some of the higher ups thought that he suffered from a severe form of PTSD. So Mr. Gibbs went on his way and instead decided that he could still get the opportunity to do what he does best by becoming what some might call a mercenary. Gibbs doesn't call it that though. He prefers to call himself simply a business man that deals with all kinds of weaponry. He really couldn't care less who his target is because all he cares about is that the money gets deposited in the bank when it is promised. And Leerson was paying him rather well just to pull the trigger a few times.

The plan was ready and set.

The next morning came too fast for some and too slow for others. Time is indeed a matter of perspective. The morning dew was fresh on the ground and the fog was just starting to clear. It was going to be a rather lovely day indeed.

Hannibal Lecter stood poised in his cell pacing back and forth. Ardelia had promised to come today, as soon as visiting hours started, but she missed the deadline. He wondered briefly if perhaps Pearsall had caught on. He heard many footsteps approaching his cell and ten people came into view. Ardelia was amongst the ten. She glanced at Hannibal very briefly then turned towards Pearsall.

"Hannibal Lecter, you are to be moved today to your new facility and you will remain there until the day of your lethal injection. We have the local police department as well as members of the FBI waiting outside with the van. You will turn around place your hands on the furthest wall. You will remain there while the gates open. There will be armed men with their weapons trained on you the entire time. If you so much as flinch, they have full permission to shoot you. Three men will enter with the straightjacket, mask, and the dolly to lift you. Do I make myself clear and do you acknowledge and understand this procedure."

Hannibal smirked, "Well good morning to you ladies and gentlemen. So my move has been expedited. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"A man who works at this facility was found dead. There was a message left behind asking that you be released. Your location has been compromised and therefore you need to be moved. Now place your fucking hands on the wall Lecter. That fucking bitch of yours is causing us a lot of trouble."

Hannibal's smirk disappeared as he approached the glass. His hands were clasped behind his back and he walked upright with a slow, but steady stride. Pearsall took a step forward as if to confront him, but of course everyone knew the only reason Pearsall would make such a move is because of the thick layer of bulletproof glass that was between them.

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Place your hands on the furthest wall Lecter, or we will use force."

Hannibal glared at him, "You stink of fear Clint. I can smell it on you. The only reason you are feigning confidence is because of the large crowd you decided to bring with you, but I can see you for what you really are."

Pearsall smiled, "Oh? And what might that be?"

Hannibal hissed, "A dead man."

Pearsall flinched and Hannibal turned around to place his hands on the furthest wall as instructed and waited for the next step.

Pearsall gave the signal and the barrier opened. One of the orderlies walked forward with the restraints and Pearsall raised his hand, "No. You aren't going to be the one to put on his restraints."

The orderly objected, "But sir, its protocol I have to-"

"Not another word! Mapp! You are going to do the honors."

Ardelia's head shot up, "What?!"

"Go now!"

Ardelia grabbed the restraints from the orderly and walked forward into the cell and she felt a dark sense of irony. She felt more comfortable standing next to the cannibalistic serial killer then out there with Pearsall. As she started to place him in the straight jacket she whispered under her breath to him.

"Sorry Doc."

Hannibal nodded but didn't say a word. Then the two orderlies came in to assist in the restraints and strapping him onto the dolly. Now Hannibal the Cannibal was ready for transport.

They rolled him to the elevator and to the outside world.

The building sat for the most part alone in a large open field. It was surrounded by woods, and at the edge of the tree line, Clarice waited. She was laying prone with a pair of high powered binoculars and her trusty gun beside her. Her car wasn't far from her either. She drove it as close as she could until the woods got too thick. She controlled her breathing and tried keeping it steady for her and for the baby. She glanced around, but saw no sign of anyone. She wondered if perhaps it was someone working within the facility or within the police. Her thoughts were racing until she saw the large metal doors begin to open and she held her breath. There he was, strapped to the metal dolly with his head held high. Her heart began racing. She hadn't been in his physical presence in so long that it hurt. She hoped he knew that she was there for him, waiting. Seeing him brought her hope again, but that would soon disappear.

The men wheeled Hannibal to the large armored van preparing to load him, and then, just like that, Hannibal's chest exploded open with blood. The bullet had pierced him clean. The men began shouting and hiding behind vehicles, and they were searching for where the gunshot came from.

Clarice saw the whole thing and felt her heart snap. Her breathing stopped and she had to bite her hand to prevent herself from crying out. Her mind raged again and again as she watched the men pull Hannibal out of her view. Her vision became clouded and her mind had emptied. She shut her eyes. No. No. No. No. No. No.

She opened her eyes again and focused. Focused hard. Hannibal was facing to the North and the bullet had entered to the right of his chest. Based on the trajectory, she knew the general location of the shooter. She also knew that to have that kind of aim that it had to be a high powered scope sitting atop a rather large sniper rifle. She searched the tree line carefully looking for her clue while the FBI and police shouted down below and took cover. A few more shots were fired, but Clarice knew better. The scattered shots didn't hit anyone. But if he could hit Hannibal so cleanly from that far off, then he could hit more people, but he wasn't. His goal was to make them take cover, focus on something else, and not pay attention. She searched and searched and found what she was looking for. She, for just a few seconds, caught the glimpse of something reflecting the sunlight at the far edge of the woods. It was just what she was looking for. It had to be the sunlight catching part of the gun and scope. She scrambled to her feet and into her car.

From Mr. Gibbs' vantage point, he had just pocketed one million dollars. He needed to make a wound severe enough to insure that Hannibal would need to be transported immediately to a hospital, but not enough to kill him quickly. The scattered shots were to keep the men hiding long enough for him to make his escape. He quickly picked up his gun and made his way back to his car as well. He was going to be a very rich man.

Meanwhile, the FBI men were shouting out to take cover and search the area as best they could. The orderlies pushing Hannibal had laid the dolly on the ground and were checking Hannibal's wound. Hannibal was showing no signs of outward pain, but his breathing was labored. His chest was rising and falling rapidly.

Pearsall shouted, "Get him inside now!"

One of the orderlies shouted back, "Sir, he needs to get to a hospital now! If he doesn't he could die."

Ardelia ran to Hannibal, "Doctor!" She kneeled down and looked at the wound, "Fuck, shit…. Get him in the van now, he has to go now!"

They got him in the van and the two orderlies hopped in the back along with two FBI agents. The van drove off fast while the FBI agents began searching the area. But they wouldn't find anything because Gibbs had already left the scene with a big smile on his face. He looked down at his phone and watched the notification come across the screen from his bank showing that the million dollars had been transferred. He made it to the road again and sent his boss a quick text message.

"You are a man of your word Mr. Leerson. Should you need my services again please contact me anytime."

While he was texting, Clarice's car had come out of the woods and slammed right into Gibbs' car sending it spiraling off the road. Clarice stumbled out of her vehicle with her gun in hand and ran over to the other car. She opened the door and Gibbs fell out coughing.

"Fucking bitch! Are you crazy?"

"Some might say that."

"Wait…I have seen your face before. Aren't you-"

Clarice kicked him square in the chest and shot him in the leg, "You don't get to ask questions. I do. Why did you kill Hannibal?"

Gibbs was screaming from the gun shot in his leg. Clarice shot the other leg. Gibbs was screaming out even louder until Clarice placed her gun in his mouth next.

"You took the one thing away from me that I cherish most. So I am going to make you hurt, but first you are going to answer me. Why did you kill Hannibal!?!"

Gibbs put his hands up and gagged, "I didn't."

"What was that?" She pulled the gun out of his mouth.

"I didn't kill him! He is alive. Everything is according to plan. I don't have anything to do with Hannibal. My job is done. My boss, he wanted him. If you let me go, I can show you."

Clarice stood upright and took a step back, "Show me."

Gibbs slowly made his way to his feet and reached into his pocket and held up his cell phone. He tossed it to Clarice. She caught it and noticed Gibbs was reaching for his gun and so she shot him in the head right between the eyes. He fell to the ground.

She got into her car and raced off knowing the FBI wouldn't be too far behind. She scanned the phone and noticed it only had one contact in it from a Mr. Leerson. She read through the texts quickly and gasped. The text message read:

"After you make the shot I will be waiting down the road for the van. They won't get far. As soon as I have Lecter, the money will be transferred immediately."

Clarice sped down the road and found the van. Inside the van were four dead bodies. Two belonged to the orderlies and two belonged to the FBI agents, but Hannibal was no where to be found.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Hannibal….Hannibal…can you hear me?" The man known as Leerson called out to Dr. Lecter who was currently strapped to a metal table. His chest, arms, legs, and feet were all being held down by leather straps. There was another man in the room operating to close the wound in Hannibal's chest. He was also administering fluids through an IV.

"Can he hear me Doctor Franz?"

The other man in the room responded, "He can hear you, but he is very weak. He had significant blood loss. I know you put a lot of faith in your cohort, but he came damn near close to killing him. If it was anyone else, they may have just died."

"He won't die, he can't die."

The man known as Doctor Franz packed up his bags, "Whatever you say Mr. Leerson, he is stable now. Just make sure the money gets deposited in my account. If his status changes please call me."

"Your professionalism is always appreciated Doctor, thank you."

Dr. Franz left and now it was just Hannibal and Mr. Leerson left in the room. Hannibal remained perfectly calm and still and he kept his eyes closed.

Hannibal allowed his nose to take in the different scents in the room. He could smell the leather straps holding him down, he could smell the musty stench of the room, and he could smell the other man in the room.

Mr. Leerson approached the table again, "Hannibal, I am going to need you to wake up soon, or I may just have to bring your lovely wife here. Perhaps she can rouse you from this sleep."

Hannibal kept perfectly still, but his breathing pattern changed.

"Aha! So you can hear me and you are awake. Excellent. Well then let's get to the point shall we? Do you remember me? I want you to look at me and tell me if you remember."

Hannibal suddenly jerked forward, teeth bared, ready to tear his throat out. However, the straps kept him in place. Mr. Leerson jumped back, laughing, "That was a good one Hannibal, you almost had me there. I will have to remember that even in your weakened state that you are still quite…vicious. Then again you remind me something of a feline: smooth and sleek but deadly. My grandfather had four hound dogs. One day he turned them loose and they cornered a bobcat. Small creatures bobcats, especially when compared to the strength and size of the dogs, but do you want to know what happened? That bobcat tore up those dogs, all four of them. They came yelping back home licking their wounds and the bobcat got away with barely a scratch on them. You remind me of that creature."

Hannibal glared at him, "Turn me loose and let's find out what happens."

Mr. Leerson chuckled, "No, no, now why would I do that? I need you to listen to me because what I am telling you is very important. I have waited literally years for this opportunity. You are a difficult man to reach. Now you never answered me, do you know who I am?"

Hannibal gave him a good look over and was honestly confused. He searched the depths of his memory palace, but had no recollections in any of the vast rooms of his mind.

"You heard the man call me Mr. Leerson, you obviously know that is not my real name. My real name is Patrick Vince. But that also will not ring a bell I am afraid. But believe me when I say we have met. Your mind is vast Hannibal, do you want to know where to find me? Search that dark corridor that you locked away deep down, that door that you refuse to enter. You will find me there. For you see, the last time I saw you, we were but children and your dear sister was still alive then."

Hannibal's eyes widened just a fraction before returning to a cold look, "You…it can't be…"

"Yes! We have finally come to it, though I don't blame you for forgetting me. There were several of us kids locked in that barn with you and your sister. But you were only concerned for her safety, and you didn't really care about the rest of us. They took me outside, you probably assumed they had killed me. Rightfully so, seeing as I didn't return to the barn, but I managed to escape by hitting one of them over the head with a rather large piece of wood I found. I took off running shortly after, and they were too weak with hunger to make chase. I thought the rest of you had died. I spent years living in an orphanage. I feared going out. The war had scared me and every night I went to sleep, I saw the faces of the men who captured us. Those dogs who were cooking us to eat, to survive. I thought about just ending the whole thing, all of it, but you know what changed me?"

He walked closer to Hannibal and looked him in the eye, "You did. I saw on the news years later, that one of the men who captured us had died, then another, then your face showed up on the news as the prime suspect. Your name flashed across the screen, and I remembered you. I remembered you because it was the name your sister would shout every day when she was so scared, 'Hannibal, Hannibal, Hannibal.'"

"Enough! Get to the point."

"You killed those men that did that to us and I followed your career with enthusiasm. I watched you with fascination, admiration, and I understood what it was that you had truly become. Thanks to you I was able to set myself free. You consumed the men that did that to us, and now, in order to truly free myself, Hannibal. I wish to consume you. I wish to devour that courage, the courage to stand up to our captors, the wisdom you possess, and the strength. I want it all."

Patrick pulled out his knife and brandished it in front of Hannibal, "For years I followed your career, but that woman, she has tainted you and your perfection. Only I truly understand you."

Hannibal smiled, "You should have told me you were this delusional. I could have offered you some fine therapy sessions to get passed your traumatic experience at life. But instead, it seems to me, that you have lost yourself, so this first lesson is on me. Admiration and fascination are not anywhere near the level of understanding someone. The person who knows me best might be you since you have followed my career so close and since you knew me from the time in the barn. However, the person who UNDERSTANDS me best is Clarice. And you will never understand what I am."

Patrick frowned and brought the knife to Hannibal's cheek, "That was a pretty speech Lecter, but I am not impressed."

"Oh is it Lecter now? What happened to Hannibal? Getting a bit sensitive are we Patrick?"

"You would do better to not provoke me, it is I who holds the knife."

"Physically speaking yes, you are the one holding the knife. But mentally you are too weak."

"I will show you who is weak!!"

Patrick dug the knife into Hannibal's stomach and brought his face close to Hannibal's and smiled, "Who is too weak now?"

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone! We finally figured out about the mystery man in this chapter! I wanted to give a little backstory for people who have only watched the movies and haven't read the books. So in the Book, Hannibal Rising, there are actually multiple children stuck in a barn with Hannibal and Mischa. In the book, only Hannibal survives, but I thought, "Wouldn't it be interesting if just one of those kids escaped this traumatic experience?" Anyways, for anyone wondering how this character came about, it came from the book version. The movie adaptation only has Hannibal and Mischa trapped in a house. If you haven't read the book I do highly recommend. It was way more impactful than the movie (even though the move was good). So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please comment and tell me what you think. Next chapter is coming soon because I obviously can't leave you guys hanging like this.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Clarice sped down the road as fast as she could, and she dialed Ardelia's number. It was risky to call, but there was no time to waste.

Agent Mapp glanced at her buzzing phone. She walked behind a vehicle and answered in a mumble, "Girl you must be crazy to call me now. I am surrounded by agents what the fuck just hap-"

"He has Hannibal Dee!"

"What?! Who?"

"Our mystery man hired a gunman and this whole scene was staged, but where ever Hannibal is, he is injured. I took care of the sniper Dee and I have his phone with the number to our guy on it. We can get him. We have to get him now."

Ardelia shook her head, "Fuck! Ok, ok. Look I will leave now but we will have to make this quick. Where are we supposed to meet?"

"Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. Meet me there in fifteen Dee or I am leaving without you."

"I'll be there."

Ardelia walked to her car and started to get in, but she was stopped short when Pearsall grabbed the door.

"Where in the hell do you think you are going?"

"To the hospital, they need someone there to guard Lecter and watch him. Don't want him pulling another great escape right boss?"

Pearsall glared at her, "You call me when you get there. I will be checking."

"Fine."

Ardelia slammed the car door shut and drove off in a hurry. Clarice of course had beat her to the meeting spot. Ardelia parked her car at the gas station, grabbed her gun, and then got into Clarice's car. Clarice handed the suspect's phone over to Ardelia.

"Here it is, get it figured out and I will drive. I was thinking the boys back at the office could trace it back to our guy, it still has the SIM card in it. What's the last number he called or texted?"

"Only one number. Jesus girl you are lucky you got this before he disposed of it. Let me call John, he can get me an answer."

Ardelia pulled out her phone and dialed John's cell phone personally instead of his office line. He always had a crush on Ardelia so she knew he wouldn't question her reasoning too much.

"John! It's Dee. I have a number I need you to look up for me, anything you got, anything."

"Ardelia! What are you working on?"

"A case with a shooter. I managed to get his cell phone."

"You got it, give me the number and just a few short minutes."

* * *

The knife sunk deep into Hannibal and yet he barely made a sound. Just a little huff of air was all that could be heard.

"Now that is no fun Lecter. I would like to hear you scream before we finish this. Can you scream for me? Or perhaps you are incapable of feeling such. I wonder…if I were to check on that lovely wife of yours…would you scream for me to stop?"

Hannibal's eyes lit up like sparks of fire were burning in them.

"There! That's it, that's what I wanted! Maybe I should consume those fires eyes first….no, no that wouldn't do. Then you couldn't see her suffer. Let me think, let me think."

He pulled out the knife and tapped it against his chin as if seriously contemplating this ridiculous scenario in his head, "Aha, I got it! Perhaps I could take just one eye for now. That will do."

He leaned closer and smiled, "Let's get to work, shall well?"

Patrick leaned across the table and Hannibal jerked forward teeth bared, and Patrick jumped back and fell. He stood up in a fit of rage and brought the knife up above his head, ready to drive it in to Hannibal's eye.

Much to his surprise, Hannibal reached up and grasped Patrick's arm, squeezing tight. Hannibal then brought his other arm around and slashed Patrick's chest. He fell to the floor in pain.

"Aaahhhh, how…how…did you get out? You were in restraints!"

Hannibal waved a scalpel in the air, "A good doctor should always do an inventory check after an operation. Cheap doctors are cheap for a reason."

"What?"

"An inventory check Patrick. It's what a doctor should do after an operation. Think of it as counting all your utensils so you don't accidentally sew up a patient with something still left inside. Doctor…Franz was it? Left this far too long by my side. He didn't notice when I slipped it away quietly. Probably shouldn't completely blame him though. Most likely he thought I was unconscious the whole time anyway."

"F…fuck you….you will die here! By my hands!"

Hannibal smiled, "Threaten me all you want, but those hands will never touch Clarice."

Hannibal stepped forward and Patrick charged him, but Hannibal parried to the side and sliced across Patrick's face.

"Aaahhh!!! Oh God, help me."

"God cannot hear you here while you are in my care. No, the only relief you will get from me is when you finally open your eyes and see the Devil. Because it is only in the Devil's arms that you will find peace from me."

* * *

"Claire! John got us a location. The address is some abandoned warehouse not too far from here. We could be there in about 20 minutes."

Clarice smiled, "Good, I knew he couldn't go far with the condition Hannibal was in. But we need to hurry."

Clarice and Ardelia sped down the road and arrived at their location in about 14 minutes. They both got out, guns at the ready. They heard screams coming from the above floors and they ran to them.

"Is that Hannibal screaming Claire?"

"No, it isn't."

They busted through the door and were met with the image of Hannibal covered in blood standing above a mutilated body. At first sight you would say the man laying on the ground was dead, but he was still gasping and clinging for air. Hannibal turned and smiled, "Ladies, how nice of you to join us."

The body on the floor gagged on blood and struggled to speak, "Y..yyy..you and I came…from the same….so…why…"

"We share a similar history yes, but we are far from the same."

Clarice could tell by the tone in Hannibal's voice that he was fading. She also knew that some of the blood he was covered in was his own. She walked over to him and hugged him. She felt like crying but knew she couldn't. She pointed her gun at the almost lifeless body on the floor and pulled the trigger. At the same time Patrick Vince drew his last breath, Hannibal collapsed on the ground.

Clarice knelt by his side and placed her hand on his neck checking for a pulse, it was faint, "Hannibal, please can you open your eyes or talk to me please. I need to know you are going to be ok."

Ardelia ran over and checked his body for wounds, "Shit Claire, by the looks of this, he has lost a lot of blood. The wound in his chest reopened and there is a fresh wound here."

Clarice placed his head in her lap. Ardelia looked to Clarice, "C, he isn't going to survive like this, where can we take him?"

Clarice ran through all the possibilities, "I know someone. But we need to get him to the car. I saw a stretcher in the hall. Help me Dee."

* * *

Alexander Wright sat on his couch watching the local news and was baffled when he saw the news of Hannibal's abduction. It was on every channel. Then there was a knock at his door. He glanced at the door, then glanced at his dog Max, "I could almost bet money on who that is, eh boy?"

Max perked up immediately and ran to the door sniffing, tail wagging, and whining.

"Oh yes, there is only one person you get that excited about, traitor."

He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a half conscious Dr. Lecter leaning against Ardelia and Clarice.

Doctor Lecter spoke in short breaths, "Hello….dear…friend…I need…one more…..favor…"

Wright reached out and wrapped Hannibal's arm around his shoulder and carried him to the living room, "One day Hannibal. I would appreciate it if you would come to visit me in one piece."

Hannibal chuckled, "Me too."

Once he got Hannibal to the couch he left the room to grab his medical bag. Clarice stroked the side of Hannibal's face, "I just now got you back, so please, don't go anywhere. "

"I am not going anywhere Clarice."

Ardelia leaned against the door frame smiling at the two of them. She glanced at the news and saw Hannibal and Clarice's faces on the screen. She immediately frowned, "Damnit, they are going to be on us and fast. It is gonna be really difficult for you two to get out of the country."

Clarice spoke up, "We aren't getting out of the country, not with him in this condition."

"You two will have to hide. It's just not gonna be safe anywhere."

Alexander Wright came back in the room with his medical case. Max was laying in the floor beside the couch Hannibal was on, "Don't look so down Max, Hannibal will be up in no time."

* * *

Meanwhile in an office at the FBI facility a man sat in front of a computer with headphones in listening intently. The microphone chip Will Graham had placed on Max the dog had finally come through. Since Will planted that chip on Dr. Wright's dog, Pearsall had placed a few men in charge of listening to the recordings to see if he had any connection with Starling or Lecter. Tonight was Tony's shift, and as soon as he heard the name Hannibal, he phoned Pearsall.

"Hey boss, you aren't going to believe what we just heard."

"What?"

"That Doctor Wright guy has Lecter at his place. I just heard him say it. Want me to call it in?

"No! I'm on my way to his house now. I want to finish this myself. Just you and your men should do. We will get the job done, tonight."

"Yes sir."

* * *

A/N: In case you skimmed over it, in Chapter 17 of my story Will plants a microphone chip in the dog Max's collar. Next chapter is going to start a new part in my story. So get ready. Please review it always encourages me to write more. Much love!


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Hannibal was laying in the guest bedroom at the residence of Dr. Alexander Wright. Clarice was sitting on the side of the bed holding Hannibal's hand in hers. Ardelia and Dr. Wright were both downstairs trying to give the two some privacy. Clarice was the first to break the silence.

"I thought I had lost you."

Hannibal smiled and stroked the side of Clarice's face, "My dear…it would take a lot more than that to keep me from you."

"But had I not shown up at the right time…I mean you could have bled out….alone…you could have-"

"Silence Clarice. That was never going to happen, ever."

"But how can you speak so confidently?"

"Just a few short years ago, I met an FBI agent in training, on a mission to solve a case that has been pushed upon her by her superiors. But even walking into the unknown, she was confident, walked upright with pride, and faced it all head on. Clarice you were the first person who ever really looked at me in that cage. I had lots of visitors, but their gaze never met mine. You however, you looked at me. I never lost hope because I had the best FBI agent on the case of my rescue. I knew you would come."

Clarice started to tear up and she smirked, "That's former FBI agent, Dr. Lecter."

Hannibal chucked, "Of course, so tell me former FBI agent," Hannibal rested his hand on her belly, "when were you going to tell me about this little one?"

"After we finished with Will. I didn't tell you while we were hunting him down because I was worried. I was worried you would get distracted and that you wouldn't let me come along to help. I didn't want you to take this journey alone."

"Clarice, my dear, you will always have a place by my side as long as that is what you want. I will never leave you behind. I think its more important that we stay close together to watch over each other."

Clarice bent over and kissed Hannibal, and then they were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

Dr. Wright came through the door carrying two syringes.

"Sorry. I was trying to give you two some more time, but you need your medication Hannibal. I also brought you something to help you sleep."

"Of course Dr. Wright. I trust your judgment." Hannibal held up the arm with his IV.

Clarice stayed by his side until he drifted to sleep and then she left the room quietly shutting the door behind her. She walked downstairs and found Ardelia on the couch half asleep.

"Dee, get some rest already. You have really pushed yourself too hard."

"I'm good….just need to rest my eyes for a moment."

Clarice walked into the kitchen where Dr. Wright was preparing a light dinner.

"What are you doing Doc?"

"I thought you and Ardelia might be hungry, so I am just making a light meal."

"Food actually does sound good right about now. But I had a question."

"Ask away."

He turned to get some milk out of the fridge, "How much longer til Hannibal is back on his feet?"

"Well a normal person should take a couple of weeks to recover from those injuries. But Hannibal has always been quick to recover. I am sure he will be on his feet in no time. He just needs rest at this point."

"Thank you for taking us in. I didn't know who else to turn to."

"Not at all Clarice. Now, if you will excuse me, I let Max out a little while ago and I need to get him back in the house."

Clarice stepped in front of him, "No, please allow me. I'll go get him."

"Thank you Clarice. Then I shall finish dinner preparations here."

Clarice walked outside and called for the dog, but he never came, "That's odd, he usually loves people." She walked around to the side of the house and heard Max barking. Clarice wasn't sure if it was her instincts from all the years as an FBI agent or being on the run with Hannibal, but something seemed off. Almost like she could hear footsteps. She crouched down low and tapped the ground to let Max know to come to her. He ran over and curled around Clarice in a protective stance. But whatever he was barking at, came from the other side of that fence.

She pulled out her gun and started to look through the fence posts until she heard a popping sound coming from inside the house. To an untrained ear they wouldn't recognize that sound, but Clarice had recognized it as a silencer on a pistol. She crouched back down and looked in through the window. She noticed Mapp was no longer lying on the couch. She scurried her way to the back door entrance to get in to the kitchen. There she saw Dr. Wright laying on the ground with blood pouring from a gunshot wound in his chest. She very gently opened the glass sliding door and crept in, but was quick to shut the door back so Max couldn't get in the house. She went to Dr. Wright and spoke softly.

"Doctor are you ok?"

He was choking and struggling to speak, "T…three men. All armed. F…B…I…"

He gasped a few times then ran out of air. He exhaled sharply and that was it. His body was there in a pool of blood, motionless. Clarice got her gun at the ready and went into the living room. She saw two men checking all the rooms downstairs. She steadied her aim but was stopped just short of pulling the trigger when Ardelia grabbed her arm from behind.

"Dee? Are you alright?"

"No! One of those fuckers shot me in the leg. I heard them shoot Dr. Wright when they came in. I tried to stop them but they got me first. I managed to hide but they are searching the house now. When they double back, I will get the tall blonde one. I owe him for shooting my damn leg."

"Got it."

They both steadied their aim waiting for the men to come back in the room. When they finished searching the other rooms they met back in the living room and spoke.

"No fucking sign of any of them except the Doctor in the kitchen."

"I know I heard Clarice's voice over the mic ok? We need to find the dog and get that chip back. I know she is here and so is Ardelia, stay alert til Pearsall finishes upstairs."

Clarice and Ardelia both fired their guns and the men hit the floor. Clarice immediately stood up and sprinted upstairs.

"Claire baby wait!!!! For all we know there could be more." Ardelia tried to follow but her leg was bleeding and throbbing. She was unable to put any weight on it.

Clarice ran upstairs and bolted through the room and found Pearsall standing beside the bed Hannibal was in. Gun was drawn and ready to fire at any moment.

"Ah, Clarice. I knew you would show up if I just waited patiently for a while."

"Get the fuck away from him."

Pearsall looked down at Hannibal who was sleeping peacefully. "Doesn't seem so scary to me. Especially not in this condition. This man, this…monster. He has caused a lot of pain and suffering Clarice. This is how its all going to end. Right here, right now, and by my hand."

Pearsall glanced down at Clarice's protruding pregnant belly in disgust, "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. You were the Cannibal's whore after all."

"Drop your gun Clint."

"And what if I don't? True, you could shoot me, but I wonder…do you think that you could kill me quick enough for me not to shoot him? Risky gamble Starling."

"It is not Starling, not anymore. My name is Clarice Lecter."

Pearsall flinched, "What the hell happened to you Clarice? You were one of the best agents around. So why?"

Clarice smirked, "You must be joking. How about the fact you believed a bastard like Krendler over me time and time again. How about all those endless hours I put in only to be punished later. How about the fact I told you that Verger was trying to kill Hannibal and you just blatantly ignored me. The FBI is full of a bunch of people who only care about their status, power, and money. It doesn't stand for anything I wanted to represent anymore."

"Come on Clarice. That is probably the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. So you run off with a psychotic, cannibalistic serial killer instead?"

"No. I ran off with Dr. Hannibal Lecter. The FBI has killed far more people and some of those people I personally know never deserved it. But we were under orders to perform. You always had us dancing on strings like a bunch of puppets. You didn't care. But now, now I am in full control of my life. I can decide my future and my life how I see fit. I don't have to worry anymore about being sent out on damn suicide mission by some bigot moron sitting in his FBI office in safety. What you say is true Clint. Hannibal and I are far from perfect. He has done some terrible things and I have too. However, this is my life and I have chosen my path. Trust me when I say this to you Clint, but if anything happens to Hannibal, you are going to wish I had just pulled this trigger to end it all. Now back away."

Clint frowned, "He will die Clarice and you will die. I don't really care about what happens after. So long as you two are gone!"

Suddenly! Hannibal's hand shot up and grabbed the pistol Pearsall was holding. He turned and spun quickly slamming Pearsall into the wall. Hannibal was careful to keep the gun pointed upward away from Clarice. They struggled as Hannibal kept pressing Pearsall against the wall. Clarice kept her aim at the ready, but she didn't want to shoot yet for fear of hitting Hannibal.

Pearsall snickered, "So you were awake huh? Good! Now you get to watch me kill your wife. Your grip is failing you, I can tell you are weak!"

"Clarice," Hannibal called out, "Are you ready?""

"Always," she smiled.

Hannibal spun around with Pearsall and now Clarice had a wide open shot and she fired. Clint's body fell to the ground lifeless. Hannibal dropped to his knees breathing rapidly. Clarice ran over to him and knelt down.

"Hannibal! Hannibal, are you ok?!"

"Yes my love, always. Just a little tired. Where is Dr. Wright and Ardelia?"

Clarice placed Hannibal's arm around her shoulder and helped Hannibal to his feet. She carefully guided him down the steps. Ardelia sat at the very bottom.

"Claire! Hannibal! Thank God you two are alright. Where is Clint?"

"Dead," Clarice responded.

Ardelia nodded.

Hannibal spoke up next, "Ardelia, are you alright?"

"Bastard got me in my leg Doc, but I got him back."

"We need to take care of that. Where is Dr. Wright?"

Clarice gently turned Hannibal so he had a clear view into the kitchen and a clear view of Dr. Wright's lifeless body on the ground. The dog Max was laying down next to the sliding glass window whining. Hannibal frowned, "Sorry for getting you caught up in all this old friend. Thank you."

Clarice lowered Hannibal next to Ardelia so he could look at her leg. Clarice wondered into the kitchen to get Max. She sat down in the floor and Max rested his head in her lap. Clarice patted his head. She took the collar off of him and found the chip Will had planted. She crushed it between her fingers.

It was another two hours, but Hannibal managed to get the bullet out of Ardelia's leg and to stitch up the wound. Dr. Wright luckily kept a lot of medical supplies around the house. It had been a long night and the next 48 hours would prove to be trying.

They began loading the car up, Max was in the backseat laying down. Hannibal handed the keys to Clarice and smiled, "I will need you on this first step of the journey."

"Of course."

Hannibal glanced over Clarice's shoulder and Clarice turned around to see what he was looking at. Ardelia was standing behind her. Leaning on one leg to take pressure off of the other.

Hannibal broke the silence, "I will be waiting in the car to give you two some alone time. Take your time."

Hannibal climbed into the vehicle and shut the door. Then Ardelia spoke almost laughing, "If I really thought about everything that has occurred within the last 24 hours I think I would lose my mind."

Clarice smiled, "Never a dull moment with Hannibal around."

"So very true. Thank you, both of you. I would be dead if it weren't for you two."

"There is no need to say a thank you, we wouldn't be here without you either. Come with us Dee. There isn't anything left for you in the FBI."

"You're damn right there, but I can't go with you two."

"Why?"

"Because you have both opened my eyes. I have spent a lot of time with a few guys, but-"

Clarice interjected, "A few?"

Ardelia chuckled, "Oh come on! Give me more credit than that. Like I said, I guess I just want to settle down, and I want to get away from all this. But I expect baby pictures of the whole family. Got it?"

Clarice smiled softly, "You got it. Be careful out there Dee."

They embraced each other. Deep down Clarice always knew her and Ardelia would part ways. Ardelia was far too strong of a woman to just tag along. She would undoubtedly go off and have her own adventures. And if Clarice had to guess, she would also say that Des from the bar would be going with her too.

Clarice got into the driver's seat and glanced over to Hannibal, "There is no one I would rather have at my side than you."

Hannibal reached over and held her hand, "Then I promise to never leave your side again."

* * *

A/N: THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE STORY JUST THE END OF A SECTION. Next chapter will see our favorite couple again as they continue to explore their lives, only this time, they will have a little baby with them.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32, Part 4

2 Years Later

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Xavier Dower was a man in his late thirties who looked to still be in his early twenties. He had a strong, muscular build and was right around six feet tall. In a word, he was a hustler. He preyed mainly on women whom he considered to be rich and well off. He would woo them with his talk and pretty words, and then he would take advantage in every since of the word. He raped, stole jewelry and money from the women, and by the time they woke up from the chloroform nap, he would disappear. He never killed any of his victims. He merely exploited them for their money and promptly left. This time he decided to take his game to the theater, where a play of Dante Alighieri's _La Vita Nuova_ would be shown.

His game? Simple. He would first stalk several persons of interest. After he had chosen his next victim, he would talk to them, keep them drinking, and wait. All that alcohol would eventually lead to an inevitable bathroom break where he could snag them easily. He always played it off to the people around him by saying his wife had too much to drink and he needed to get her home. If not, he would invite them outside during the intermission and do his dirty work there.

Xavier was not a wealthy man, but he played one well enough that by a passing glance people would assume he belonged there. But a keener eye might find that tailored suit of his to be a little cheap and not entirely fitting.

Tonight Xavier entered the theater with the guests gathering around him, and he decided it was time to choose his next victim. He looked around, spotting several women of interest. A few of them were with husbands but that was not a problem. Eventually the husband goes outside for a smoke, or the lady excuses herself, and he was always watching. He was trying to select the best candidate when he noticed a women out of the corner of his eye. She had beautiful blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. She wore an emerald green necklace laced with diamonds all around. Her dress was tight around the bodice and flared out at the bottom a little, and it was the deepest color of black. She stood poised with chin held high. But most importantly, no man was with her.

Perfect.

Xavier approached slowly, looking around and admiring the architecture of the theater. When he was within range he smiled and shook his head, "The beauty of this theater always astonishes me every time I enter."

The woman turned and looked, smiling, "It is indeed beautiful. It is the perfect venue for Dante Alighieri's work to be on display."

"Ah! You admire Dante do you?"

"Yes, I do."

"What is your favorite work of his?"

The woman smiled again, "I do love the Divine Comedy. The journey Dante takes through hell and Purgatory with Virgil is quite an adventure. All of this til he finally reaches Paradise where his love Beatrice waits. It parallels a lot in life I think. Which makes me wonder, does one always have to wander through hell to reach Paradise? Or is there another way?"

Xavier blinked twice and smiled meekly, "Well, you are a fan indeed! Oh, I didn't catch your name. My name is Xavier and you are?"

"Eve."

"Eve…lovely name. Tell me Eve, are you with someone today?"

Eve tilted her head slightly, "What makes you ask that Xavier?"

"Just wondering why a woman as beautiful as yourself is here alone. Surely you are married, yes?"

Eve smiled, "You are quite the charmer aren't you? Where is your wife?"

Xavier feigned sadness, "Sadly she passed away four years ago. You remind me of her you know." Of course this was a lie, but Eve wouldn't know that.

Xavier looked at his watch and back up to Eve, "Miss, we have an hour before the play starts, care to have a drink outside on the terrace with me?"

Eve nodded, "Sure, a drink sounds nice right about now."

Xavier smiled, this was going to be easier than he thought. He brought Eve outside and talked to her about some of his favorite performances he had seen and she just watched him smiling. They had a couple of glasses if wine and then walked down the street. Eve looked to Xavier, "May I show you something Xavier?"

"What is it?"

"Well, its just that, you are such a fan of the performance itself, I wanted to show you something unique about this theater."

"OK, yes that would be excellent."

They walked down the dimly lit side alley that ran alongside the old theater building. Eve approached a small window and glanced in and then gestured for Xavier to join her. He did and looked through. The window showed into the backstage where the performers were getting ready for the big show.

"Wow! However did you find this?"

"I like to wander and look around. Turns out this room used to be an office before they tore down that wall on the other side to give the performers more room to practice."

This was the perfect setting for Xavier to do his work, she was just making it too easy for him. He glanced at his watch, "Ah! Almost time for the show. After you Miss Eve. I will follow."

"Thank you."

They walked down the alley Eve in front and Xavier behind her. Eve commented, "This time of year is so lovely, you can smell the rain in the air can't you?"

Xavier pulled a small container from the inside of his jacket and put it on an old rag. He was ready to make his move. He couldn't wait to touch her once this was all over, and that necklace would go for a lot of money. He grinned. Eve still continued talking.

"You know what is funny though?"

"What's that Eve?"

"I can smell the wine, the rain, and the chloroform from you Mr. Dower."

Xavier froze in place, "I'm sorry?"

Eve promptly spun around and now faced Xavier, "Was I not clear on what I said Mr. Dower, or did you simply not understand?"

"I….I don't recall telling you my last name."

"You didn't."

"Then how did you-"

"Mr. Dower, we have been watching you for some time now. We know about the women you have raped and preyed on. We know everything."

"We who is we?"

"Mu husband and myself. That is who 'we' is."

"B-but you said you didn't have a husband!"

"No, no Mr. Dower I never said that at all. As you recall I declined to answer that question."

Xavier froze in fear, who was she? FBI? Cops? What was this?

"You're crazy! I'll kill you, you stupid bitch!"

A raspy voice echoed from behind Xavier, "I'll carve out your tongue for that boy."

Xavier turned around fast, "Who……who…is there?"

Out from behind the large lamppost stood a man dressed in all black with a crimson red tie. His hair was slicked back. He wore a threatening smile on his face.

"Who are you!?"

Eve answered from behind, "My husband."

When he turned back around again, he was met with a gun to his head.

Xavier began to cry, "What do you two want from me?"

The man approached from behind and whispered in his ear, "We only wanted to invite you over for dinner."

A sinister grin appeared on his face just as quick as the harpy in his hand.

* * *

A/N: Back in action!!!! Sorry for the delay. It took me some time to decide how I wanted to start the new part to this story. I thought this was a fitting start to our couple. 2 year time skip does mean that the baby is around now and you all will get to meet the child next chapter. But until then I hope you enjoyed this prologue. Until next chapter! Please as always, write a little review for me!


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